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The Republican People’s Party (CHP) is plunging into one of the most chaotic periods in its history, with Chair Özgür Özel facing open rebellion, expulsion battles, court-appointed trustees and mounting speculation that the party could fracture entirely.
The sense of internal collapse is amplified after an Istanbul court dismissed the CHP’s Istanbul provincial leadership on Tuesday and appointed CHP member Gürsel Tekin as a trustee, along with four others, citing legal irregularities and corruption in delegate elections.
Özel has blasted the court’s decision and the CHP has expelled Tekin from the party by a disciplinary decision, seemingly to delegitimize his eligibility as acting provincial chair.
Özel also promised to discharge “anyone who accepts the trustee appointment, be it Tekin or anyone else,” and the party is now floating expelling the four other trustees.
What began as Özel’s aggressive moves against dissenting party members has now spiraled into a full-blown crisis that undermines the CHP’s long-touted claims of internal democracy.
Party figures accuse Özel of acting out of fear of losing his seat, resorting to expulsions instead of addressing bribery scandals within CHP-run municipalities, the Turkish newspaper Sabah wrote Friday.
Former CHP MP Barış Yarkadaş, a journalist and long-time party insider, blasted the expulsions, accusing Özel of targeting loyal members while turning a blind eye to confessed wrongdoers.
“There is not a single stain on Gürsel Tekin’s 40-year party history. Instead of expelling him, expel Ertan Yıldız, who has confessed six times. Do you have the courage to do that?” Yarkadaş demanded.
His remarks triggered yet another round of disciplinary complaints.
The crisis recalls earlier episodes in which CHP leaders accepted trustees when it served their political interests.
The ruling Justice and Development Party’s (AK Party) Sarıyer District Chair Halil Ibrahim Kurşun recalled when Deputy Chair Gökhan Zeybek was appointed as trustee to the Sarıyer branch in 2012, “the CHP remained silent.”
He added that back then, party offices were broken into, safes pried open with locksmiths, and not a word of protest was heard from CHP leaders. For Kurşun, today’s cries about democracy ring hollow: “The rule of law must apply at all times, not just when it suits your interests.”
Now, the court’s trustee decision has thrown the CHP’s 38th Ordinary Istanbul Provincial Congress, held in October 2023, into question. The court is considering whether to annul the congress altogether, which would invalidate Özel’s election as party leader and return his predecessor Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu to the chairmanship.
Kılıçdaroğlu in wings
According to reporting by BBC Türkçe, the possibility of “absolute nullity” looms over the congress case, which is set to be heard Sept. 15. If judges annul the congress, Özel would be stripped of his mandate, and Kılıçdaroğlu, who led the party for more than a decade before narrowly losing to Özel, would automatically return as chair.
Party insiders say Özel attempted to meet with Kılıçdaroğlu before the June 30 hearing but was rebuffed. That silence is now seen as a signal that the former leader could step back in if the court clears the way.
Some officials warn that if Kılıçdaroğlu is restored by court order, headquarters loyal to Özel may bar him from re-entering the party building.
‘Reserve party’
Beyond the courtroom drama, the CHP is floating an even more dramatic rupture: the creation of a new party.
BBC Türkçe reported that some CHP figures see this as the “worst-case scenario,” but also a necessary contingency if the judiciary annuls the congress. Preparations for a “reserve party,” though cloaked in secrecy, are said to be underway.
The reasoning, according to party insiders, is that if Kılıçdaroğlu returns and consolidates control, CHP support could “hit rock bottom.” In that case, loyalists to Özel and the current leadership would not “leave the nation without options” and would continue under a new banner.
