Over the weekend, Turkish politics witnessed an important development as Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, who has led the Republican People’s Party (CHP) for 13 years, was ousted democratically, opening the way for change in the country’s main opposition party.
With the handover ceremony of the party’s chairpersonship from Kılıçdaroğlu to 49-year-old Özgür Özel on Wednesday, the process for change, which had been increasingly voiced since the elections, seems to have been completed. However, what can be expected from the CHP now? Will the rhetoric of “change” be limited to change in leadership? Is or will the new CHP cadre be working on a new party program reflecting this change or political position that can be presented to the public? The upcoming months will show us the answers.
Since his defeat in the May parliamentary and presidential elections, Kılıçdaroğlu has come under fire for refusing to step down as the leader of the CHP, established by modern Türkiye's founder Mustafa Kemal Atatürk. Kılıçdaroğlu pulled together a multifaceted alliance that included both right-wing nationalists and left-wing socialists. But the six-party bloc nearly fractured months before the election and then underperformed in the polls despite pre-election surveys predicting a strong showing.
Kılıçdaroğlu then riled many within his party by refusing to concede defeat and quit. Leaving the party leadership following this last defeat or at least at the congress instead of forcing his position until the end would have left a better legacy for the 74-year-old for his party. During the Kılıçdaroğlu era of the CHP, the party has failed to win a single national election, although it scored significant victories in local elections in 2019, taking a handful of major cities, including Istanbul and the capital Ankara.
Discussions started within the CHP following the elections and the topic of change became the number one agenda as the CHP voter base also longed for renewal. The post-election period saw opposition voters turning their anger from the ruling party toward the CHP itself. Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoğlu, whom many wanted to see as the presidential candidate of the opposition for the presidential elections but who was sidelined by Kılıçdaroğlu, took on the lead for those calling for change. Secret Zoom meetings and Imamoğlu creating a website called "Change for Power" to collect the voters' demands and views for change followed. The election of another advocate for change, Özgür Çelik, as CHP Istanbul head was another indicator of what was to come. Delegates were elected first, after which congresses were made in the districts and provinces followed by a great party congress with the participation of the 1,366 delegates from the provinces. Özel won the final ballot by an 812-536 margin.
An important message given by Özel during the congress was his saying that the party will be managed through “open, transparent and participatory decision channels that can limit, control and direct the elected chairman.” He spoke also about a new participation mechanism that carries the agenda of voters and members to the delegates, the ideas of the delegates to the party assembly and the decisions of the party assembly to the Central Executive Board (MYK).
The challenge facing the CHP is to determine whether the voter base is convinced by this change and remotivated. Local elections will be the first test of the new leadership. Özel recently said that winning the local elections in March 2024 would pave the way for victory in 2028. Yet, one has to bear in mind that although the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) endured significant losses in the 2019 local elections, this had no major influence on decreasing the total vote of the party in presidential elections, so a correlational line should not be drawn so easily. Moreover, after rewinning the hearts of the CHP voters, the party has also to focus on the opinion of the indecisive as well as right-wing voters.
The new leadership has to explain what this change means for the CHP, which can hardly be described as a leftist party in its current state. Kılıçdaroğlu had frequently mentioned that the party “needs to be brought back to its old settings,” while Özel underlined during his congress speech that: “We are a social democratic party. We are the party of labor.”
The CHP needs to create new politics, approaches and mechanisms for regular renewal with its new cadre. The ousting of its old leader through democratic ways is a step forward toward reestablishing democracy and trust within the party – a notion that had been lost for long due to cadres' lacking competence and merit.
Through the congress, the door for change and renewal has been opened and Özel as well as Imamoğlu have to use this opportunity well to reenergize its voter base after the election disappointment and rebuild dialogue with CHP members. It is to be seen whether Imamoğlu will seek to be a presidential candidate for the 2028 elections. For now, he announced his plan to become a candidate for Istanbul mayorship once again. Whether he will be reelected in Istanbul and if yes, how his tenure and success in Türkiye’s metropolitan city will be, will define his political path toward the 2028 elections. Özel winning the chairmanship and opening the way for change in the CHP might also reignite talks for coalitions in the local elections after the six-party opposition coalition dissolved following the election defeat.
