CHP’s Özel launches signature drive for extraordinary convention
The faction of Türkiye’s main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) aligned with Özgür Özel has started a signature campaign among delegates to convene an extraordinary convention following a court ruling that nullified the party’s 2023 vote, the ousted leader said on June 1.
Özel said the first signatures had already been collected and more than 550 delegate signatures would be needed to trigger an extraordinary vote.
“The party that brought the ballot box to Türkiye will not surrender to a trustee,” Özel told reporters in parliament, referring to reinstated chair Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu. The initiative comes after a court decision annulled the CHP’s 38th ordinary convention, creating uncertainty over the party’s leadership and prompting a power struggle between supporters of Özel and Kılıçdaroğlu.
Özel argued that the party was being targeted because of its electoral gains, pointing to the CHP’s gains in the 2024 local elections and growing public support for the party. He accused the government of using judicial mechanisms to “weaken CHP-run municipalities and halt the party’s rise toward power.”
