Although briefly, a funeral united the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) on Thursday.
Since he was ousted from office with a court verdict last month, former Chair Özgür Özel saw his successor, Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, for the first time at the funeral ceremony at Parliament in Ankara.
The two men, who have savagely reprimanded each other for days, shook hands at the ceremony for former lawmaker Orhan Sür. Yet, this was pretty much the entirety of the encounter. Kılıçdaroğlu left the ceremony minutes later while turning down questions by journalists who inquired how it felt to return to Parliament. Özel, now serving as parliamentary group chair of the party, returned to his office at Parliament following the funeral.
The encounter, however, is not expected to go beyond a simple gesture of kindness as Kılıçdaroğlu was expected to chair a disciplinary board of the party later on Thursday, to consider expulsions of members close to Özel. Özel insists he is still the rightful holder of the office and repeatedly urged Kılıçdaroğlu to hold a new intraparty election, confident of winning again, three years after he defeated the longstanding leader in a November election. An Ankara court has ruled that Özel’s victory was dubious amid allegations of vote-buying and reinstated him to the office. Özel appealed to the verdict, and the case is now before a higher court.
