CHP divided over timing of new convention amid leader crisis
Republican People's Party (CHP) ousted leader Ozgur Ozel stands atop of a bus as he waves to supporters during a rally, days after a court dismissed him from office, in Izmir on May 26, 2026. (AFP)
A leadership dispute within the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) is intensifying as ousted chairman Özgür Özel insists there is no legal barrier to holding a new convention despite objections from reinstated leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu.
In remarks to private broadcaster Sözcü TV on May 27, Özel rejected Kılıçdaroğlu’s argument that a court injunction prevented the CHP from convening an extraordinary convention, saying the party could legally organize a congress within 45 days if there was political will to do so.
“There is no legal impediment to the congress,” Özel said. “An ordinary or extraordinary convention is a new founding process. Therefore, the precautionary measure does not prevent the convention from being held.”
