Following the decision of the Ankara Regional Court of Justice, Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu returned to leading the CHP. Özgür Özel and his supporters resisted the leadership change, but they were escorted out of the party headquarters by police forces.
Kılıçdaroğlu announced that he would return to the party headquarters on the fourth day of Eid al-Adha, May 30 and would deliver a very important speech there. Following this, Özel decided to hold a meeting at the CHP’s Ankara Provincial Headquarters on the same day and at the same time. The original invitation was for holiday celebrations, but the gatherings and speeches turned into political rallies, contrary to the spirit of the holiday.
Both sides drew their swords and made their first moves. On the one hand, Kılıçdaroğlu accused his opponents, namely Özel and former Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoğlu, of being members of the Gülenist Terror Group (FETÖ) and having close ties to foreign circles. Özel, on the other hand, stated that the issue was not an internal struggle within the CHP, but rather an extension of the conflict between the ruling party and the opposition, and accused Kılıçdaroğlu of acting in a pro-Erdoğan manner.
Therefore, as of today, the division within the CHP is very clear, and the likelihood of the parties reaching an agreement is very low. Kılıçdaroğlu’s side will continue to accuse Imamoğlu and his team of corruption, immorality, and illegal connections. Imamoğlu’s side will continue to accuse Kılıçdaroğlu of being a traitor, a trustee and a puppet of the ruling party. The conflict between the parties will deepen even further in the coming weeks. The accusations the parties make against each other could likely send them back to the courtroom.
