The end is near in Türkiye’s oldest party for those loyal to Özgür Özel. Less than one month after he replaced Özel, main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu launched disciplinary proceedings for several prominent names from the Özel camp. This week, he plans to launch similar action against chairs of the party’s several provincial branches.
Kılıçdaroğlu, who lost a 2023 election to Özel, returned to his former tenure in May when a court ruled that Özel’s election was the result of a vote-buying scheme in the intra-party vote. In the wake of an “absolute nullification” verdict for the Özel administration, Kılıçdaroğlu has pledged to clear the CHP of all “corruption and wrongdoings it is associated with.” This “cleansing” as Kılıçdaroğlu branded involves parting ways with lawmakers, mayors and other influential names in the party, mostly those implicated in corruption probes and sex scandals.
Nine lawmakers were referred to the disciplinary board last Wednesday and on Friday, the party’s administrative committee ordered disciplinary proceedings for Bolu Mayor Tanju Özcan and Serkan Tuncer, mayor of Mersin’s Mezitli district. Özcan, who staged a protest march for the resignation of Kılıçdaroğlu in the wake of latter’s election defeat in the 2023 presidential elections, announced that he resigned from the party. Özcan was recently detained on charges of corruption as media reports uncovered his multiple affairs. The party also seeks the expulsion of Hasbi Dede, the former mayor of Giresun’s Görele district who was earlier arrested on charges of sexual harassment. Dede was already expelled from the party but his expulsion was nullified when the court ordered the nullification of the Özel administration.
