The remission request of Tanju Özcan, the mayor of northern Bolu province, as well as another 12 members, was accepted by the party, Republican People's Party (CHP) spokesperson Deniz Yücel said Monday.
“Our party’s council had a decision of principle, which was remission for the 100th anniversary of our party. The request of 13 of our friends, among which is Bolu Mayor Tanju Özcan, were discussed at the party council and it was decided that their membership be restored,” Yücel told reporters.
Özcan on the same day spoke about the development saying he returned home.
He thanked CHP Chairperson Özgür Özel and the party’s council members, pledging to continue making politics in line with the founder of the republic, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk.
Özcan was discharged by the CHP’s High Disciplinary Board after he initiated a dispute with the party, criticizing former CHP Chairperson Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu for his election defeat against President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in a historic runoff the opposition’s best chance yet to unseat him.
Özcan had been a disputed figure in his party long before the electoral defeat. He was temporarily expelled last year over “inappropriate behavior” and after his referral to the disciplinary board earlier this month, he launched a march from Bolu to the capital Ankara chanting for “Justice and Change" and rallying hundreds in agreement.
When he ended his march in front of the CHP headquarters, Özcan publicly called on Kılıçdaroğlu to resign. His argument has been that Kılıçdaroğlu “forced” his presidential nomination on the CHP-led six-party opposition bloc Nation Alliance and “led the CHP on for 13 years for nothing.”
The Bolu mayor hasn’t been alone in his rhetoric since several prominent figures within the CHP, including its popular Istanbul mayor Ekrem Imamoğlu, have been campaigning for change and accountability, something that has dragged the CHP into chaos since May.
However, earlier this month, Türkiye’s main opposition party dumped its embattled leader in favor of an untested former pharmacist, Özel. The bespectacled 49-year-old German speaker won the final ballot by an 812-536 margin after promoting himself as the candidate for "change."
