The Republican People’s Party (CHP) was officially divided in July, but the fight is not over for the two opposing camps of Türkiye’s oldest party. The CHP’s decision to withdraw from an appeal against a court verdict that ended former Chair Özgür Özel’s tenure has sparked another debate among supporters of current Chair Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu and the New Party (YP), founded in July by Özel.
Özel filed an appeal against a case stemming from allegations of vote buying in a 2023 intraparty election that propelled him to power in the party. The same case cost him the chair in May and reinstated his predecessor, Kılıçdaroğlu. Things appeared to be returning to normal after a bitter row between Özel and Kılıçdaroğlu, but the case triggered another debate after the Kılıçdaroğlu administration decided to withdraw the appeal to prevent delays in what it called the congress calendar. Kılıçdaroğlu has pledged to hold a new election in the party after his reinstatement.
The case is now before the Court of Cassation. Özel’s YP, meanwhile, argues that the withdrawal would not affect the case, as the former chair is still a party to it even though he has severed all ties with the CHP.
CHP spokesperson Müslim Sarı said earlier that Özel and others in the YP had legally lost their status as parties to the case after they established the YP.
YP Parliamentary Group Deputy Chair Murat Emir, however, says the “absolute nullity” verdict that ended Özel’s role as chair can be overturned if the top court reviews the case. He accused the CHP of withdrawing the appeal for fear that Özel’s rights would be reinstated.
The CHP administration announced a new regular congress calendar on Sept. 10. Under the calendar, following the submission of membership lists to the Office of the Chief Public Prosecutor at the Court of Cassation, the lists will be posted for public review on Oct. 28.
The congress will be a test for Kılıçdaroğlu’s second tenure. The former chair has been quiet about his ambitions to be elected again since his reinstatement, but this week, he was openly challenged for the first time. Aytuğ Atıcı, a former lawmaker, announced that he would run for party chairperson and held talks with Kılıçdaroğlu about his intention. Atıcı told journalists after the meeting that he did not “seek permission to run” from Kılıçdaroğlu, who did not say much about his intention other than wishing him success.
Kılıçdaroğlu, on the other hand, aspires to restore the party to its heyday as the main opposition.
Turkish media outlets reported that the veteran politician will hit the road in October, seeking to reach out to the party’s dwindling support base after the party split in July.
When Kılıçdaroğlu began his ambitious campaign to “cleanse” the CHP of corruption allegedly linked to Özel’s associates, including mayors arrested on bribery charges, he was branded a “traitor” by the Özel camp, which also claimed that Kılıçdaroğlu would not even go out for fear of being booed. Kılıçdaroğlu made a few field trips over the summer and managed to attract crowds, but it may take more than that to keep the CHP intact after the YP grabbed the coveted title of “main opposition” by transferring most of the CHP’s lawmakers.
Apart from a few instances, Kılıçdaroğlu has not faced a dire reaction, and in some cases, the events he attended drew large crowds. Encouraged by this, the party launched a timetable for a congress and started appointing new figures to local branches.
In October, Kılıçdaroğlu is expected to visit Istanbul and the southeastern provinces of Diyarbakır and Şırnak. Like Özel, he is expected to focus on economic issues during his revival campaign, a favorite subject of Özel in his efforts to bring the opposition to power. In predominantly Kurdish Diyarbakır, Kılıçdaroğlu is expected to hold talks with locals on “terror-free Türkiye,” a government-backed initiative to end the PKK’s campaign of terrorism, which has long exploited the Kurdish community under the guise of fighting for so-called Kurdish self-rule in the southeast.
