The reinstated leadership of the Republican People’s Party (CHP) took a further step yesterday in the serious crisis engulfing the main Turkish opposition party by announcing the dismissal of 26 provincial chairmen and the initiation of party expulsion proceedings against a further seven, thereby intensifying the internal struggle triggered by the controversial court ruling issued on 21 May. At the same time, the former leadership headed by Özgür Özel continues to consider the possibility of forming a new party following the so far unsuccessful attempts to convene an emergency congress.
During yesterday’s meeting of the CHP’s Central Executive Committee, chaired by Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu – who was reinstated as the party’s general secretary following the controversial court ruling – a total of 26 provincial chairmen were dismissed, and seven of them were referred to the disciplinary committee with a request for their expulsion from the party, according to the Turkish newspaper Hürriyet.
The party’s new spokesperson – appointed by Kılıçdaroğlu – Müslim Sarı, announced at a press conference the dismissal of the CHP chairpersons in the provinces of Ağrı, Aksaray, Amasya, Batman, Bilecik, Bolu, Çanakkale, Denizli, Diyarbakır, Düzce, Eskişehir, Hakkâri, Iğdır, Kars, Kırıkkale, Manisa, Mardin, Muğla, Muş, Niğde, Nevşehir, Osmaniye, Samsun, Sivas and Tunceli. In addition, the district leaderships in Ağrı, Niğde and Osmaniye were also dismissed, as was the party administration in the Akçakoca district of the north-western province of Düzce.
Meanwhile, the provincial chairmen Ali Osman Horzum (CHP chairman for Denizli province), Nail Kızıl (Muğla), Talat Yalaz (Eskişehir), Aykut Cem Yalçınkaya (Sinop), Onur Uludaşdemir (Kars), Özcan Dağıstanlı (Düzce) and Berkay Gündoğan (Tunceli) were referred to the disciplinary committee with a request for permanent expulsion from the party. The CHP’s new central executive committee also appointed new chairpersons for the CHP in several provinces, including Batman, Çanakkale, Mardin, Osmaniye, Niğde and Tunceli.
Expulsion of 7 party members for behaviour and social media posts
Sarı told journalists that all these dismissals and requests for expulsion stem from an assessment by the leadership of various instances of behaviour incompatible with party discipline: “The CHP’s institutional identity is a red line for us. We carried out a general assessment of the attitude of the provincial and district organisations, as well as the women’s and youth wings, in light of this situation, and took certain decisions. The assessment was conducted in relation to behaviour, social media posts and other actions and conduct,” he said, without wishing to go into further detail.
This latest reorganisation of the provincial structure of the main opposition party comes amidst the growing internal crisis within the CHP following the court ruling at the end of May that annulled the party congress held in 2023 due to irregularities in the voting. The ruling by the Ankara Regional Supreme Court removed Özgür Özel’s leadership and reinstated Kılıçdaroğlu and his team at the helm of the CHP, which has led to a chaotic situation of dual leadership within Turkey’s main opposition party, as Özel and his supporters — including the majority of CHP MPs and provincial leaders — have refused to recognise the new leadership imposed by the courts, accusing Erdoğan himself of being behind the decision.
Tensions between supporters of Özel and Kılıçdaroğlu have escalated in recent weeks as both sides claim legitimate control over the main bodies of Turkish leading opposition party; furthermore, whilst Özel and his supporters advocate holding an extraordinary congress to resolve the dispute over the CHP’s leadership, the faction aligned with Kılıçdaroğlu argues that the legal restrictions imposed by the court ruling prevent such a congress from being convened and maintains that the party must call an ordinary congress, to be held from September onwards. More than 800 delegates with voting rights have signed a petition in favour of a new congress, which Özel is now attempting to force through by taking the matter to court.
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Edited and reviewed by:
Pablo Gómez is a specialist in Turkey and has been editor-in-chief of Hispanatolia since 2011. He has been analysing current affairs and geopolitics in Turkey and the surrounding region since 2006.
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