The main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) strives to keep inner conflict away from the public, but a debate on the party’s presidential candidate and an investigation into allegations of the current chair bribing supporters stoked the crisis.
The CHP long portrayed apparent infighting within the party as democracy at work, but nowadays, cracks in unity have become more apparent.
Hours after the chairperson of the main opposition party shared photos of two popular mayors to shoot down rumors of dissent, Turkish media was awash with reports of a split among them. On Monday, the CHP found a new crisis in its hands when prosecutors revealed an investigation into the allegations that the current chair “bought” supporters to oust his predecessor in an intraparty election in 2023.
The CHP pushed for an early election after a rare win in municipal elections last year. Chairperson Özgür Özel sought to ride the wave of the party’s popularity after the elections and amid the electorate’s reported concern over economic conditions to call for early elections. His call for an early election found support among CHP members, while the names of Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoğlu and Ankara Mayor Mansur Yavaş were brought to the spotlight as potential presidential candidates in an early election. Özel himself affirmed the reports of the candidacy of Imamoğlu or Yavaş. Yavaş figured more prominently in recent opinion polls as CHP’s potential candidate, although Imamoğlu’s media-savvy ways overshadowed Yavaş’s more quaint public image. On Sunday evening, Özel shared a photo of himself sitting around a table with Imamoğlu and Yavaş on social media with an accompanying message reading: “We are together, we will be together. We will win together, Türkiye will win.” It was eerily similar to a photo shared by Özel’s predecessor Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu while he was running for the presidency in the 2023 elections against Erdoğan. Kılıçdaroğlu had introduced two men as his potential “vice presidents.”
Özel on Monday convened an assembly of his party to discuss a “preliminary election” to pick a presidential candidate for the early election the CHP campaigned for. Yavaş, however, is known for his strict opposition to picking a candidate. Media reports said that Yavaş would not take part in such a process, essentially eliminating his chances of being nominated by the CHP. Yavaş did not confirm reports by media outlets associated with the CHP. “It is too early to select a candidate. We don’t have a set election date any time soon. Circumstances may change by then,” Yavaş told reporters on Feb. 3. However, he did not rule out the possibility of running for top office.
As the party’s assembly meeting was underway, the Chief Prosecutor’s Office in the capital, Ankara, made public an investigation into the process that brought Özel to power at the CHP in 2023. The office announced that Özel’s predecessor, Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, and former acting parliamentary group chair of the CHP Akif Hamzaçebi, were summoned to testify as witnesses in the case. Prosecutors say they were investigating the allegations that some delegates voting in the Nov. 4-5 congress held in 2023 were paid to vote.
The office said the chief prosecutor’s office in the northwestern province of Bursa had already launched an investigation into allegations after a tipoff, but prosecutors there referred the case to Ankara as it was out of their jurisdiction, adding an investigation was launched in January 2024. Kılıçdaroğlu and Hamzaçebi are summoned to give witness accounts over allegations due to statements they made to the media about the process.
Prosecutors will look into allegations that some delegates were given cash, cellphones and houses to buy support in favor of Özel and may summon more officials of the party.
Kılıçdaroğlu was a proponent of the investigation and said in a televised interview that the CHP should not turn a blind eye to the allegations and be more transparent. Özel, meanwhile, had dismissed the allegations, claiming it was an attempt to smear the dignity of CHP and incite strife within the party.
Hamzaçebi has echoed Kılıçdaroğlu’s statement and said Özel should respond to the allegations. “(Özel) remains quiet in the face of this allegation. Silence is consent,” Hamzaçebi said in a recent social media post.
