The Turkish opposition’s Republican People's Party (CHP) has received the message of its supporter base and is "genuinely" taking into consideration all the self-criticism after the defeat in Türkiye’s May elections, officials said Saturday following a meeting of its party's council.
The CHP’s general assembly and decision organs will continue assessing and analyzing the voters’ message, election results in every town and province and as per criticism, will rapidly take whatever action is necessary, the party’s written statement read amid uncertainty over its leadership.
The CHP has been floundering since their leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu lost by a slim margin to President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in May 28’s runoff – the opposition’s best chance yet to unseat him.
The party, partnered with five others under the Nation Alliance for the landmark elections, also performed poorly in legislative polls, securing a total of 212 seats and losing the majority to the Justice and Development Party-led (AK Party) People’s Alliance in the 600-member Parliament.
Except for the bloc’s second-largest member, the Good Party (IP), four parties with barely 1% support countrywide ran under the CHP’s banner and won 40 parliamentary seats, leaving 169 seats for the CHP itself. The IP secured 9.6% support on its own, translating to 43 lawmakers.
Against mounting pressure and calls for resignations over what many CHP voters called a "failure" to lead a successful election campaign, the party has solely blamed "unfair conditions" for the defeat.
"In spite of this, we have evaluated election processes and results in line with administrative organs from the first moment," the party council insisted in its statement.
"At today’s meeting, we have examined in detail the election results and the technological information system we used for vote counts," it said.
The CHP council added that it also greenlit setting up a schedule for the general assembly, the party’s top decision-making organ that assesses and concludes the party’s general issues, principles and stance per internal bylaws.
According to the statement, the CHP central executive committee will be announcing the preparations and decisions for the general assembly process soon.
"As CHP, we will determinedly continue pointing out the ways out of the increasingly deepening economic crisis," the council said.
Yet, trouble seems to be looming over Türkiye’s biggest opposition party, particularly its leadership.
Earlier this week, all members of the central executive committee walked out on Kılıçdaroğlu, who "welcomed" their resignations, in what many called a move for the CHP leader to forsake his committee to hold onto the seat he has reserved since 2010.
Kılıçdaroğlu, who never once won against Erdoğan in the last dozen elections, has been criticized for lacking a general flare that would excite voters since long before he was named the joint presidential candidate of the six-party bloc.
After May 28, public outcry escalated into outright demands for him to step down.
While balances within the CHP teeter with various top figures, like Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu making moves for Kılıçdaroğlu’s chair, its parliamentary group will also be devoid of Kılıçdaroğlu’s leadership since he opted out of running in legislative polls.
CHP lawmakers assembled on Saturday to elect their parliamentary group chair, deputy group chairs and parliamentary deputy speaker.
Manisa Representative Özgür Özel told reporters he would serve as the group chair of CHP lawmakers at Parliament and informed that he would be aided by representatives from Afyonkarahisar, Mersin and Istanbul.
The CHP’s nine-member parliamentary administrative council includes five women, three of whom, only CHP representatives from their provinces, will serve as clerks.
"As the CHP, we will display an effective, inclusive, constructive and resolute opposition party. We hope people will witness a much more dynamic group featuring more women and more youths to put up an opposition," Özel said.