Kılıçdaroğlu camp floats purge ahead of top CHP meeting

ANKARA

The reinstated leadership of the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) under Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu on June 10 held its third high-level meeting in eight days, reportedly weighing possible expulsions and an increasingly contested path toward a party convention.

The closed-door meeting followed days of escalating tensions triggered by a court ruling that annulled the party’s 2023 convention, removed Özgür Özel and his leadership team and reinstated Kılıçdaroğlu to the top post.

The ruling cited alleged irregularities in the vote that brought Özel to power. It effectively split the party into competing power centers, each claiming legitimacy.

The political standoff spilled into public view on June 9 when both Kılıçdaroğlu and Özel were scheduled to address the party’s weekly meeting in parliament. The overlap led to confrontations between supporters of the two factions at the entrance to parliament.

Following a call for restraint by CHP’s Ankara Mayor Mansur Yavaş, Kılıçdaroğlu relocated his meeting to party headquarters.

At parliament, Özel addressed more than 90 members of parliament. Kılıçdaroğlu, for his part, signaled disciplinary action against internal opponents.

Around 20 MPs attended Kılıçdaroğlu’s meeting, while roughly 20 others did not attend either gathering, citing neutrality or scheduling conflicts.

Separately, 74 of the party’s 81 provincial chairs declared support for Özel’s leadership.

Under party rules, removing MPs or mayors requires approval from the Party Council, where Özel-aligned members currently hold a numerical majority.

Attention is now shifting to a Party Council meeting scheduled for June 11, where both factions are expected to face each other in the same room for the first time since the dispute escalated.

According to reports, Özel’s camp plans to renew its call for an extraordinary convention, while Kılıçdaroğlu is expected to outline his position on holding a regular convention.