The main opposition Republican People’s Party’s (CHP) executive board, reinstated under a court-backed ruling, met for a second time on June 5 amid contacts between rival camps facilitated by intermediaries.
The CHP has been mired in turmoil since a ruling invalidated the party’s 2023 convention and restored Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu and his leadership team to authority pending further legal proceedings.
Kılıçdaroğlu chaired a second meeting of the party’s Central Executive Board at CHP headquarters in Ankara on June 5.
At the same time, a mediation delegation composed of senior CHP figures continued efforts to bridge the divide between the two camps. The delegation held another round of talks with Kılıçdaroğlu and also spoke by telephone with Özel, but reports said no agreement had yet been reached.
In a separate move, the party’s disciplinary body under the Kılıçdaroğlu-aligned administration reportedly annulled actions taken during Özgür Özel’s tenure, including expulsions and sanctions against several members.
In remarks outside party headquarters on May 30, Kılıçdaroğlu said his priority would be restoring discipline and organizing a “clean and untainted congress” as soon as possible.
“They ask me what I will do; I will demand accountability,” Kılıçdaroğlu said.
Özel sharply criticized the legal process during a parliamentary meeting on June 2, describing the developments as an alliance between “absolute sultan and absolute nullity.”
“If a step back is taken and a [new] convention is held, this chapter will be closed,” Özel said.
He also dismissed Kılıçdaroğlu’s newly announced Central Executive Board as a “list of desperation,” as 111 of the CHP’s 138 lawmakers had called for an extraordinary convention.
Kılıçdaroğlu’s list also agreed to convene the party’s parliamentary group on June 9 and the Party Assembly on June 11.
Meanwhile, the mayor of the southern city of Kilis, Hakan Bilecen, resigned from the CHP. Bilecen announced that he was leaving the party and would continue serving as an independent. Local media reported that he cited difficulties receiving sufficient support and advancing services for Kilis.
