Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) leader Devlet Bahçeli called on the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) to hold a new convention on Sept. 9 following a court ruling that annulled the party’s previous leadership election.
Bahçeli said CHP should begin a renewal process under former chairman Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, who was reinstated as party leader after the court’s ruling invalidated the convention that brought Özgür Özel to power.
“Mr. Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu is the CHP chairman,” Bahçeli told daily Türkgün in an interview published May 27. “From this point on, Mr. Kılıçdaroğlu will naturally fulfill the requirements of the court ruling and his role as chairman.”
Bahçeli said Kılıçdaroğlu’s pledge to “restore CHP to its founding codes” amounted to an acknowledgment that the party had drifted from its founding principles.
The MHP leader also criticized scenes that emerged after a police operation at CHP headquarters, saying the incident created “an unfair perception against Türkiye” domestically and abroad.
“At a time when we are trying to strengthen the internal front, dragging Turkish politics into instability through CHP is unacceptable,” Bahçeli said.
He urged both Kılıçdaroğlu and Özel to abandon “the language of hatred” and called on CHP to renew its membership rolls, register new members and launch a congress process culminating on Sept. 9, the anniversary of the party’s founding.
“In this way, a cleaned and purified CHP will have been established by the time of the grand congress,” Bahçeli said.
