Fifty-five provincial heads of the Republican People’s Party (CHP) on Thursday announced support for the party’s chairperson, Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, ahead of the 38th ordinary congress to take place during the weekend, which will either reelect or replace the chair.
CHP Ankara provincial head Ümit Erkol, following a meeting of the 55 heads at the party headquarters in the capital, said that the members signed a text on their stance for the congress.
"We decided to support our CHP chairman, Mr. Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, who we believe will continue the renewal process that started in our organizations, at the 38th CHP congress. We see that Mr. Kılıçdaroğlu will be reelected with the support of approximately 900 delegates as a result of the collected signatures and negotiations," Erkol told press members.
Saying that the congress will be a diplomatic race, Erkol said that it will create a renewed administration, which will carry the party first to victory in upcoming local elections and then in general elections.
Preparations for the CHP congress, which will be held at the Ankara Sports Hall on Nov. 4-5, have come to an end.
The main slogan of the Congress was determined to be "Congress of Democracy and Unity in the Second Century."
With Kılıçdaroğlu's proposal, the chairmanship of the congress will be Istanbul Provincial Chairman Ekrem Imamoğlu. On the first day of the congress, elections for the general chairmanship will be held, and on the second day, the Party Assembly and the High Disciplinary Board will be elected.
Fractions have plagued Türkiye’s oldest political party since the CHP leader lost the six-party opposition bloc’s best chance yet to unseat incumbent President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in May’s general elections.
Having also ceded the parliamentary majority to the ruling Justice and Development Party-led (AK Party) People’s Alliance, the Nation Alliance dissolved the next month, with the second-biggest partner, the Good Party (IP), walking out seemingly for good.
Kılıçdaroğlu has been endlessly criticized for the bloc’s failure and repeatedly urged to step down.
Unrest has snowballed into an intraparty conflict between his supporters and faultfinders. They are locked in a power struggle over CHP leadership, as even Kılıçdaroğlu’s trusted allies like Ekrem Imamoğlu, who became Istanbul mayor in a surprise 2019 win, came out of the woodwork demanding accountability.
New leadership in CHP, which would replace Kılıçdaroğlu’s 13-year reign, could energize opposition masses in time for mayoral polls. However, the party is still looking at grim odds as back-to-back election losses culminate in frustration among its members and supporters.
Özgür Özel, Örsan Kunter Öymen and Ünal Karahasan have so far challenged Kılıçdaroğlu. A candidate needs approval signatures of at least 5% of all elected delegates, meaning 69 members, to be able to run for CHP chairpersonship officially.