Turkey’s main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) will not hold a parliamentary group meeting this week after rival camps led by Özgür Özel and Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu canceled planned appearances, stepping back from a possible repeat of last week’s confrontation over who has the authority to address party lawmakers, Turkish Minute reported, citing the Anka news agency.
The decision comes after a leadership crisis in the CHP deepened last week when Özel addressed lawmakers in parliament, while Kılıçdaroğlu, reinstated as chairman by a controversial court ruling last month, held a rival meeting at party headquarters in Ankara.
The CHP has been in turmoil since the 36th Civil Chamber of the Ankara Regional Court of Justice last month annulled the party’s 38th Ordinary Congress held in November 2023, when Özel defeated Kılıçdaroğlu and became chairman.
The ruling left the party divided over who has the authority to represent the CHP in parliament.
CHP parliamentary group deputy chairman Murat Emir said at a press conference that no request had been made by Kılıçdaroğlu’s camp to hold a group meeting in parliament.
“We understand that they are not working on holding a group meeting. We are pleased,” Emir said, referring to the Kılıçdaroğlu camp.
Emir said Özel had also decided not to hold a parliamentary group meeting, citing what he described as fatigue among party members after intense support rallies and mobilization in recent days.
Müslim Sarı, who was appointed spokesman by Kılıçdaroğlu after he assumed the chairmanship under the court ruling, later announced that Kılıçdaroğlu would also not hold a group meeting in parliament on Tuesday.
“In order to protect the unity of the Republican People’s Party and prevent the emergence of new divisions and tensions, our chairman, Mr. Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, has decided not to hold the group meeting planned for tomorrow at the Turkish Parliament,” Sarı said in a statement on X.
“Our party’s priority is not personal or temporary debates but the protection of the CHP’s institutional strength, common sense and social responsibility,” he added.
Last week’s dispute had raised fears of a direct confrontation in parliament between supporters of Özel and Kılıçdaroğlu, as both sides claimed authority over the CHP’s weekly parliamentary group meeting, traditionally held on Tuesdays.
Supporters of Özel, who was re-elected CHP parliamentary group chairman on May 23 after he was removed from party leadership by the court ruling, said his new position gave him the right to address the party’s lawmakers in parliament.
Kılıçdaroğlu’s supporters, however, argued that as party chairman under the court ruling, he had the authority to oversee the parliamentary group.
Kılıçdaroğlu had been expected to go to parliament last Tuesday, but the immediate standoff was defused after he decided not to attend and visitors were barred from the group meeting.
Özel addressed lawmakers at the scheduled meeting after first speaking to supporters gathered outside parliament.
Kılıçdaroğlu instead held an alternative meeting at CHP headquarters, where he vowed to pursue what he called “clean politics” and remove those he accused of corrupting the party.
The case stems from allegations of irregularities in the 2023 leadership vote, including claims of vote buying and manipulation. The CHP denies wrongdoing and says the lawsuits are part of a broader judicial campaign to weaken the party after its gains in the March 2024 local elections.
The CHP became Turkey’s leading party in the 2024 local elections, delivering President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) its worst electoral defeat since coming to power.
Since then, CHP-run municipalities have faced a wave of investigations and detentions, while İstanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu, widely seen as Erdoğan’s strongest potential rival, remains in jail. The government denies interfering in the judiciary and says Turkish courts act independently.
The leadership dispute has also sharpened divisions over whether the party should hold an extraordinary congress. Özel’s supporters are pressing for a congress before July 26, warning that delays could jeopardize the party’s eligibility to run in elections.
Kılıçdaroğlu’s camp favors a regular congress process beginning at the neighborhood, district and provincial levels, a timetable that could take months.
Turkey is scheduled to hold its next general election in 2028, although calls for an early election have intensified amid a cost-of-living crisis and growing political tensions.
