Calls from within the Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu camp to expel ousted leader Özgür Özel and former Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoğlu have intensified Türkiye’s main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) power struggle, sharpening divisions between rival factions competing to shape the party’s future leadership.
The escalation comes as the CHP continues to grapple with the fallout of a court ruling that annulled its 2023 congress and restored Kılıçdaroğlu’s pre-congress authority on an interim basis, triggering competing claims of legitimacy and control inside the party.
According to party figures and media reports, hardline voices aligned with Kılıçdaroğlu are increasingly pressing for disciplinary action against senior figures in the opposing camp, including calls to remove Özel and Imamoğlu, who has been jailed since March 2025 on charges of corruption.
The allegations have been firmly rejected by supporters of Özel, who say the claims are politically motivated and aimed at consolidating control over the party apparatus following the court decision.
Özel and his allies, meanwhile, are pushing for an early extraordinary congress to resolve the leadership dispute through a new delegate vote, arguing that internal legitimacy can only be restored through elections.
