Tensions between New Party Chair Özgür Özel and figures aligned with jailed ex-Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoğlu have intensified, with mounting criticism targeting the party leadership over what critics describe as a string of political missteps that have weakened the opposition.
Friction between the two camps has surfaced periodically since the establishment of the New Party (YP), particularly over its leadership structure, presidential candidacy and local organization.
Özel drew criticism after several figures considered close to Imamoğlu were left out of the party’s Central Executive Board. His subsequent signals that the party could reassess Imamoğlu’s presidential candidacy further fueled debate over the balance of power between the two camps.
The latest criticism came from Sabancı University associate professor Berk Esen, known for political assessments sympathetic to Imamoğlu, who accused the Özel leadership of repeatedly mishandling key political developments.
"The main opposition lost significant momentum following the absolute nullity ruling, and the Özel leadership made mistake after mistake,” Esen said in a written statement.
Esen described the party leadership as "ineffective and unresponsive,” arguing that its handling of recent developments had eroded the opposition’s political momentum.
He cited what he described as the failure to mount a sufficient response to Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, reliance on a Court of Cassation ruling, confusion surrounding the framework law and the successive loss of municipalities.
"The failure to show a sufficient response to Kılıçdaroğlu, relying on the ruling to come from the Court of Cassation, followed by confusion over the framework law and municipalities being lost one after another have seriously weakened the opposition front,” Esen said.
He also warned that morale among opposition supporters was fading, saying the results of Özel’s strategy should now be openly questioned.
"I think it is now necessary to openly discuss what the results of the strategy pursued so far have been,” he noted.
The criticism adds to signs of strain within the New Party as differences between Özel’s leadership and figures associated with Imamoğlu increasingly spill into public debate.
Bribery allegations overshadowed the CHP’s 2023 congress, in which Kılıçdaroğlu unexpectedly lost the chairpersonship by a very narrow margin. Rumors that Özel and Imamoğlu had bought the votes of hundreds of delegates in exchange for money were brought before the courts, and the allegations were effectively confirmed by the absolute-nullity ruling issued by the regional appeals court recently.
Imamoğlu, who was arrested last year on charges of municipal corruption, was a key figure within the CHP. Prior to the intra-party election, he was caught on video at a meeting where he schemed with other party figures to support Özel against Kılıçdaroğlu, who had helped his rise in the party.