In the aftermath of his presidential election defeat, Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, leader of the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP), faces mounting calls for his resignation. As the winds of “change” blow in his direction, the 74-year-old politician is trying to stave off dissidents.
Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoğlu, with whom the CHP chair once described as having a “father-son” relationship, is among the most vocal dissidents, openly advocating a “change” in Türkiye’s oldest party. Kılıçdaroğlu has so far turned a blind eye to the calls but is anticipating an upcoming convention of the party for a potential election to replace him. In the meantime, he thwarts obstacles to his continued reign in the party, such as a ban imposed on Gökhan Günaydın, the party’s parliamentary group deputy chair and a close confidant of İmamoğlu on attendance to the party’s central executive committee. Elsewhere, he has cut off funding to Halk TV, a pro-CHP TV station that now backs the advocates of the “change” campaign. Still, dissidents retain a majority in the CHP’s party assembly, threatening his iron-fisted rule of the party since 2010, when he replaced Deniz Baykal, a leader who adhered to a more orthodox party policy.
Kılıçdaroğlu, a former bureaucrat, opened the door for unconventional alliances, particularly before the presidential and legislative elections in May, further alienating some CHP supporters.
Imamoğlu made headlines earlier this week when the video of his secret videoconference with former aides of Kılıçdaroğlu, all prominent names in the party, was leaked online. The popular mayor of the CHP is heard discussing an extraordinary “congress” for party elections in the video. The mayor, who tirelessly campaigned for Kılıçdaroğlu when the latter ran against incumbent President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, was also among the first names voicing a need for change in CHP leadership. In response, the CHP leader suspended numerous heads of the party’s local branches across Türkiye known for their support to Imamoğlu.
Supporters of a change in the powerful party assembly have reached 31, a critical threshold for Kılıçdaroğlu that may pave the way for the “extraordinary congress” Imamoğlu talked about in a leaked video.
Kılıçdaroğlu’s election defeat and Imamoğlu’s rebellion made growing discontent within the party more visible. The Istanbul mayor reportedly made an angry speech in a recent gathering of CHP mayors attended by Kılıçdaroğlu and criticized the leader. At the same meeting, he faced criticism from Bülent Kerimoğlu, mayor of Istanbul’s Bakırköy district. Kerimoğlu reportedly slammed Imamoğlu for his secret meeting and described it as an “immoral” move. Kerimoğlu said he would run for Imamoğlu’s office if the party approves. Imamoğlu responded that he should focus on his municipality work and said Kerimoğlu “cannot even walk on the Bakırköy streets” due to his failure as mayor.
Kerimoğlu acknowledged the confrontation with Imamoğlu at the meeting held over the weekend but said it was Imamoğlu who was responsible for the failures of his municipality. He said in a televised interview that Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality (IBB) led by Imamoğlu was responsible for Bakırköy’s shortcomings as they failed to renovate the main street of the district and caused “traffic chaos.”
“Mr. Imamoğlu is a successful mayor indeed. He is successful in his public relations work,” he said, mocking the mayor.
