Özel tours southeast as Kılıçdaroğlu scraps Istanbul event
Ousted Republican People’s Party (CHP) head Özgür Özel launched a two-day tour of southeastern Türkiye on June 26 as reinstated chair Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu canceled a planned appearance in Istanbul amid the leadership crisis within the main opposition movement.
Özel was welcomed in Diyarbakır by party members and supporters at the airport before beginning a series of public engagements aimed at rallying backing for his faction following last month’s court ruling that restored Kılıçdaroğlu to the CHP leadership.
The ousted chairman greeted supporters on the tarmac before visiting local shopkeepers. He also met farmers, held talks with civil society representatives and concluded the day with a gathering of young people.
“Today, after the appointment of a trustee to our party’s will, we have left the buildings behind and we are walking,” Özel said during his visit. “We are walking with those who love us all over Türkiye.”
