Ekrem Imamoğlu has always been blunt in his criticism of the government and President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. But when it comes to his own party, Istanbul’s mayor has carefully chosen his words. Yet, unexpectedly, he hurled a veiled criticism toward Republican People’s Party (CHP) following the runoff loss against Erdoğan on May 28. On Sunday, the mayor hinted that he might challenge the current party administration led by Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu.

"I will run only for one thing and that is a major change in Türkiye, just as we did in Istanbul," Imamoğlu told reporters asking him if he would run for election for chair of the main opposition party. The mayor ended the long-running streak of the Justice and Development Party (AK Party) in the mayoralty of Türkiye’s most populated city in the 2019 elections where CHP nominated him.

The mayor was considered by some CHP supporters to be nominated to run against incumbent President Erdoğan in May 14 elections. In fact, he was one of two mayors, along with Ankara’s Mansur Yavaş, expected to challenge Erdoğan on behalf of a six-party opposition bloc. Nevertheless, the bloc agreed to nominate Kılıçdaroğlu, who has lost all elections to Erdoğan so far, a decision that angered the bloc’s member Good Party (IP). IP Chair Meral Akşener had threatened to leave the bloc opposing her proposal to nominate Imamoğlu or Yavaş, although she later retracted it and decided to endorse Kılıçdaroğlu.

After Kılıçdaroğlu lost the runoff to Erdoğan, Imamoğlu, who traveled across Anatolia to promote Kılıçdaroğlu’s campaign tirelessly, has commented that it was wrong to expect different results by doing the same thing in a thinly veiled reference to nomination of Kılıçdaroğlu. The CHP is scheduled to hold an election to choose its next chairperson later this year, and Kılıçdaroğlu will likely be challenged. However, the latter did not openly say if he would run again for the prestigious seat at the helm of the country’s main opposition party.

"The politics need a new model, a new future. We have to build. The opposition should analyze what its shortcomings have been. We need to promote the change for the entire opposition. I expect a step for a change in the party. I defend an order not dependent on certain people but rather on democracy in our country and our party," he told reporters on Sunday.