Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu and Özgür Özel shake hands during a memorial ceremony for late CHP MP Orhan Sür in parliament, June 25.
Allies of ousted Republican People’s Party (CHP) leader Özgür Özel are preparing to challenge the main opposition movement’s internal leadership crisis in court, escalating a dispute over whether an extraordinary convention should be convened to reset the governing bodies.
Özel’s team is preparing to file its first lawsuit this week over the resignation of 27 members of the CHP’s Party Assembly, according to reports. The filing will argue that the mass resignations have effectively dissolved the council by removing its quorum, and it will ask a court to formally recognize that the body can no longer function.
The move is part of a broader effort by Özel’s camp to force an extraordinary convention. Under the party’s bylaws, an emergency vote must be convened quickly to replace Party Assembly members when quorum is lost, and Özel’s allies argue that such a process should also include an election on the party leadership.
The internal dispute began after a court ruling last month invalidated the CHP’s 2023 convention over alleged irregularities. The decision restored former leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu and his administration.
Allies of Özel have collected more than 800 delegate signatures demanding an extraordinary convention. However, the reinstated leadership argues that the court ruling prevents such a move and insists the party should proceed with its regular congress calendar beginning in September.
Özel’s team is expected to appeal and argue before a civil court that the ruling does not bar an extraordinary gathering. They are also expected to request the appointment of a court-designated “convening committee” to organize the process.
Meanwhile, 74 provincial CHP chairs, along with representatives from the remaining seven cities, issued a joint statement rejecting the restored administration’s decisions.
“We are not afraid, we are not discouraged, we do not bow down,” the statement said. “We demand an extraordinary convention. You will not be able to break our solidarity and determination.”
Özel has previously pledged that he will continue his political campaign in public spaces.
“They confiscated the buses on which I held 265 rallies. They thought Özgür would back down and that it would stop our march to power. Well, I’m saying right here... sitting on a chair at a cafe, I’m in the hearts of the people,” Özel said in the southwestern city of Burdur.
“We don’t need big buildings or luxury buses... From now on, we’ll be in the squares, on the streets, shoulder to shoulder with our people.”
