A sharp leadership standoff has emerged within Turkey's main opposition party, the Republican People’s Party (CHP), after a court decision last month annulled the party's 2023 congress and restored its former leader. The ruling overturned the congress that had elected Ozgur Ozel as chairman and reinstated Kemal Kilicdaroglu, who lost to President Tayyip Erdogan in the 2023 presidential election.
Both Ozel and Kilicdaroglu scheduled appearances to address CHP lawmakers at the party's regular weekly meeting on Tuesday, setting the stage for competing gatherings that could exacerbate divisions among the party's ranks. Lawmakers who support Ozel began assembling in the parliamentary hall several hours ahead of the scheduled 1030 GMT start time. Kilicdaroglu responded by announcing a different plan - to convene a meeting at the CHP's headquarters in Ankara.
In a post on X, Kilicdaroglu invited party members and others he described as citizens "whose heart beats for this country" to attend the headquarters meeting, setting it for 1100 GMT. The competing schedules highlighted the unresolved contest over leadership and control of the CHP's institutions.
Analysts and political observers cited the discord as a potential boon to President Erdogan, noting the opposition's internal turmoil could strengthen his position in upcoming national contests. The article's source stated that the challenges within the opposition could increase Erdogan's chances of prolonging his more than two-decade rule in elections required by 2028, while also noting that those elections could be brought forward if the government sought to capitalize on the CHP's strife.
The court's decision to annul the 2023 congress and reinstate Kilicdaroglu reverberated through financial markets at the time, and critics described the move as politicised. The internal disputes have enraged detractors of Kilicdaroglu and left the party factionalised between those backing the court-restored leader and those loyal to the leadership elected at the contested congress.
The meeting called by Kilicdaroglu could represent one of the final opportunities for Ozel and his elected team to hold onto control of the CHP, the secular and centrist party founded by Mustafa Kemal Ataturk. The CHP runs roughly even with Erdogan's Islamic-rooted and conservative ruling AK Party (AKP) in opinion polls, according to the information provided, but it has been subject to an unusual judicial crackdown that began in 2024.
That crackdown has, as reported, involved the detention of hundreds of members and elected officials across a range of corruption charges that the party denies. Kilicdaroglu has said he intends to cleanse the party of corruption, referencing cases tied to municipalities governed by the CHP. In contrast, the leadership ousted by the court has rejected the allegations and labelled the events a politically motivated and anti-democratic "coup." The government has denied those accusations and maintained that the courts are independent.
Party representation in the national assembly further complicates the dispute. The CHP holds 138 deputies in the 600-seat parliament, and following the court ruling around two-thirds of those deputies voted to appoint Ozgur Ozel as head of the party's parliamentary group. The alignment of the parliamentary group and the competing claims to party leadership have created a practical split in the CHP's operations.
Voices from the party's base reflect the strain. Cavit Soydas, a CHP supporter from the northeast village of Tekke, told reporters that Ozel "should fight through every possible legal means" to retain leadership. Soydas added that if those efforts fail, "we are ready to go under the name of another party."
The coming days and any follow-up actions by the party's factions or the judiciary will determine whether the CHP can reconcile the competing claims or whether the dispute will further entrench divisions that could reshape opposition politics in Turkey.