The main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) held rival Eid holiday gatherings in Ankara on May 30, highlighting a prolonged leadership dispute following a court ruling that reinstated former chair Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu and removed Özgür Özel from the party’s top post.
Özel and Kılıçdaroğlu rallied supporters at the parallel events in the capital as both camps traded accusations over the party’s future.
Accompanied by Ankara Mayor Mansur Yavaş, Özel arrived at the CHP’s provincial building in Ankara, where tens of thousands of supporters gathered in nearby Güvenpark.
“This is not an internal matter for the CHP. Let’s be clear, this is a matter between [President] Tayyip Erdoğan and the nation,” he said. “Hold a convention immediately and give the party an elected leader.”
Following the rally, Özel led supporters on a march to the mausoleum of modern Türkiye's founder, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk.
Meanwhile, Kılıçdaroğlu visited CHP headquarters for the first time since the court ruling and addressed his own gathering of supporters.
“Our reckoning is not personal, but moral,” he said. “First, we will settle the score, then I will present the convention ballot box to you, spotless.”
Kılıçdaroğlu apologized for what he called past failures to identify individuals he described as “FETÖ agents,” referring to the group behind the 2016 failed coup attempt. He also vowed to “root out corruption” within the party.
“Did we build this party just to have our reputation trampled in courtrooms? Who tried to turn our party — the legacy of our forefathers — into a sideshow at nightclub tables? It is clear what I will do. I will hold them accountable,” he said.
“I apologize for having harbored those fools who sought help from external forces. I apologize for failing to expose in time those who haggled at the bar tables and dragged the party to the courtrooms.”
The CHP has been divided into two camps since the court’s annulment ruling. Özel, who now serves as the party’s parliamentary leader, has urged Kılıçdaroğlu to convene an extraordinary convention as soon as possible. He has also proposed allowing the party’s roughly 2 million members to directly elect the next chairman.
Kılıçdaroğlu, however, has said a convention should be held only after the lifting of an existing injunction. Özel rejected that argument, saying the injunction does not prevent the party from organizing a congress and that the issue is one of political will.
