Opposition lawmaker Özgür Özel on Tuesday delivered what he described as his final address from the Republican People's Party (CHP) parliamentary group, announcing his new political party as he formally signaled his departure from the country's main opposition party. His exit marks a new era in the opposition, which is probably the most fragmented ever in the brief history of the Republic of Türkiye. It comes about two months after Özel was ousted from the chairmanship of CHP by a court verdict that reinstated his predecessor Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu to the top post in Türkiye's oldest party.
Opening his speech (apparently his last as the parliamentary group chair of the party) with an emotional farewell, Özel told lawmakers he had taken the podium "with the sadness of a farewell whose time has come," describing the moment as "a historic crossroads" for both himself and Turkish politics. Özel counts on CHP's success in the 2024 municipal elections to finally bring CHP to power after successive defeats to the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party).
Addressing supporters, Özel said the newly formed party would emerge as the country's main opposition party by a wide margin, among the slogans "Istiklal (Independence)" by a fervent audience, the rumored name of his new party. For weeks, he and his supporters were touting opinion polls reportedly showing his camp within the CHP ahead, long before he vaguely implied a new party. Retaining the position of main opposition party will require more than three dozen lawmakers, and although several CHP lawmakers openly sided with Özel, none has formally resigned from the CHP so far.
Reflecting on developments within the CHP since November 2023, Özel remarked that the events of the past several years would occupy an important place in Türkiye's political history. He argued that while political victories and defeats would eventually become part of the historical record, the conduct of political actors during the period would also be remembered.
"When everything is over, we will not forget," Özel warned. "No one should think that the attitudes, actions or conspiracies of today will simply be forgotten with time." He was referring to Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, who accepted the job as the party's chair, amid protests of pro-Özel members of the party who branded him a "traitor."
Around the same time Özel was announcing his resignation, Kılıçdaroğlu was visiting Rüzgarlı (Windy) Street of Ankara, a hub of shops selling construction materials. Earlier, he convened around a breakfast table at a cooperative of shopkeepers, hearing their economic complaints, strictly distancing himself from Özel’s agenda. President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, who spent the past two days in Istanbul at his residence, also had no scheduled events, fitting with his earlier comments on CHP’s divide, which he branded as a strictly internal matter of the opposition.
Path to new party
Özel said the split within the CHP stemmed from disagreements over the party's future following its declining public support.
He said some within the party argued for maintaining the current course and focusing on the next local elections, while others warned that the CHP risked losing voters unless it embraced change.
Reiterating the current situation of the main opposition: "People will not go into another local election with us if we continue like this. If we act this way, they will turn their backs on us. Voter turnout will fall to a historic low. Don't you see the polls? The party has dropped to around 13% or 14% and continues to decline," Özel criticized, "A major defeat is coming. After another local election disaster, people will lose hope in the ballot box altogether. We have to act.'"
Özel said that disagreement marked the point at which party members "went their separate ways," adding that he continued to value those who later joined his push for change as much as those who supported it from the outset. The Özel camp was fighting for a petition to hold a new congress in the CHP, assured that Özel would win the next intraparty election against Kılıçdaroğlu.
In one of the most notable moments of his speech, Özel challenged CHP Chairperson Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, saying the party's leadership should be decided directly by members.
"Let's put a ballot box in front of the delegates from either congress, or before all 2 million party members, and let them decide who should lead the party," Özel said. "If I receive less than 90% support, I will consider it a vote of no confidence and step aside. Are you willing to do the same?"
Özel described the launch of his new party as "opening a new path" after a court ruling declaring the previous CHP congress legally null and void, saying the decision to leave was "not a choice, but a necessity."
He said 61 days had passed since the court's ruling and accused party leaders of believing public criticism would quickly subside.
"We can either remain trapped in this deadlock and disappoint the people, or we can untie these knots one by one and clear the way for the country," Özel said.
He added that throughout his years as CHP deputy parliamentary group chair and parliamentary group leader, he had defended the party's legacy and values, and had fought through legal, political and public channels to protect them before concluding that a new political path had become unavoidable.
