Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan stated on Monday that his government has no involvement in the political and legal disputes currently facing the main Turkish opposition party, the CHP, which is undergoing a serious internal crisis that threatens to cause a split in the party founded by Atatürk in 1923. He urged political actors to focus on matters relating to the future of Turkey rather than on issues of internal rivalries: “We are not, have not been, and will not be involved in these political and legal tensions,” he said.
Speaking after a Cabinet meeting in Ankara, Erdoğan noted that the ruling alliance formed by his AKP party and the Turkish nationalists of the MHP remains focused on serving the country and building a better future for Türkiye.
“The tensions within the main opposition party do not concern us. We are not, have not been, and will not be involved in these political and legal tensions that are spilling over from party congresses into the courts. Those acting for political ends must not forget that these streets do not tolerate illegality,” he said, as quoted by Turkish media.
“We will not allow our streets to be disrupted, our nation to be polarised, nor the population to be pitted against the security forces. No one has the right to disturb the harmony in the hearts of the nation at a time like this,” added Erdoğan in an apparent criticism directed at the ousted CHP leader, Özgür Özel, who – since being removed from office following the ruling issued by the Turkish courts – has staged several protests claiming that he remains the leader of the opposition and accusing Erdoğan himself of being behind the court’s decision.
Kılıçdaroğlu calls for a “clean-up” within the CHP
The Republican People’s Party (CHP) has been facing growing divisions ever since its former leader, Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, insisted on standing as a candidate in the 2023 presidential elections, which, despite having the support of several opposition parties, he ultimately lost to Erdoğan. In the wake of that election defeat, Kılıçdaroğlu’s leadership – which had already been facing criticism over previous electoral defeats and attempts to silence critics – came under serious scrutiny, until Özgür Özel ousted him after 13 years at the party congress held in early November of that same year.
Kılıçdaroğlu’s supporters, who accuse Özel and his leadership of leading the party astray from its principles and of being involved in corrupt practices, filed a complaint with the courts alleging that the congress at which Özel was elected as the CHP’s new general secretary had been rigged and that delegates’ votes had been bought in exchange for promises of money or positions, and took the matter to court; finally, on 21 May, the Ankara Regional High Court, after examining the evidence, found the irregularities to be proven and ruled unanimously that the 2023 congress was “absolutely null and void” and that Kılıçdaroğlu should be reinstated in his post, surprisingly annulling all decisions taken to date by Özel and his team.
The deep crisis that this court ruling has unleashed became evident once again this weekend, when, to mark the long weekend for the Feast of Sacrifice, both politicians held separate events: Kılıçdaroğlu spoke for the first time since the 2023 congress to party activists from the recently reclaimed CHP headquarters in Ankara, where he promised to “clean up” the party and hold a congress when the time is right; whilst Özel and his supporters organised a march through the streets of the Turkish capital towards Anıtkabir (Atatürk’s mausoleum) during which, once again, Özel refused to recognise the ruling and claimed that he remains the CHP’s leader.
Özel collects signatures to convene a party congress
As Turkey’s main opposition party faces this situation less than two years before the next parliamentary and presidential elections, the CHP faction aligned with Özgür Özel has launched a signature campaign among delegates to convene an extraordinary congress in light of Kılıçdaroğlu’s refusal to do so as soon as possible.
Özel stated on Monday that the first signatures had already been collected and explained that more than 550 would be required to convene the extraordinary congress. “This party will not surrender to a trustee appointed by court order,” Özel told journalists from the Turkish parliament – which he claims is “the new headquarters of the CHP” – clearly referring to the reinstated Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu.
To compound the situation within the Turkish opposition, where supporters on both sides claim to be the legitimate leaders of the party, Özel – who was elected leader of the CHP parliamentary group following the ruling in a hastily convened vote, that Kılıçdaroğlu is now seeking to invalidate – intends to chair tomorrow’s regular weekly meeting of CHP MPs at the Turkish Grand National Assembly, a meeting that Kılıçdaroğlu temporarily suspended just a few days ago, aware that a majority of current MPs support his rival.
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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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