Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, who retook the top post in the opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) in May, says his party may ally with the New Party (YP), founded by his predecessor Özgür Özel, in the next election. Kılıçdaroğlu, who was branded a “traitor” by YP supporters after he was reinstated to his post by a court ruling, told Euronews in an interview released on Tuesday that they were open to supporting YP’s presidential candidate, Ekrem Imamoğlu, if he is eligible to run in the next election.
Imamoğlu, a former Istanbul mayor, was arrested last year on corruption charges, about two years after he campaigned to oust Kılıçdaroğlu from the CHP’s top post. Özel succeeded Kılıçdaroğlu in a November 2023 election, but a court ruled that the election should be nullified amid allegations that Özel’s associates in the CHP bribed delegates to vote for him. Özel left his post in May but vowed to appeal the court ruling, only to change his mind two months later and go on to establish the YP with fellow CHP lawmakers.
Kılıçdaroğlu returned to the CHP with a promise to “clean up” the party of “corruption,” and in the following months, the party parted ways with mayors and others indicted in corruption investigations. Imamoğlu soon joined them. In the interview on Tuesday, Kılıçdaroğlu said Imamoğlu was not a “political prisoner,” as the YP tried to portray him, though he stressed that his arrest was “not right.” He said Imamoğlu’s presidential candidacy should not be linked to the trials against him.
Imamoğlu faces thousands of years in prison for allegedly running a criminal gang that thrived on bribery and corruption at Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality (IBB), while Özel has claimed that he was jailed to prevent his future candidacy in the 2028 elections. Imamoğlu is currently ineligible to run for office because his university diploma was annulled on charges of forgery.
The CHP leader said people accused of corruption should be able to defend themselves and should “account for every penny they are accused of stealing.”
