Özgür Özel, the ousted leader of the Republican People’s Party (CHP), moved the main opposition movement’s weekly meeting in parliament from Ankara to Eskişehir this week as heightened security measures surrounding the NATO summit disrupted activity in the capital.
Özel will hold the meeting in Eskişehir on July 7 as part of his ongoing tour across Türkiye, replacing the party’s customary Tuesday gathering at parliament. The meeting is scheduled to begin at 1:30 p.m., matching the usual time of the weekly group session.
The relocation comes as Ankara hosts the NATO summit, with extensive security measures expected to slow transportation and limit public activity across the city.
The change also coincides with continued uncertainty inside the CHP, where disciplinary measures and leadership disputes have dominated recent weeks.
Reinstated CHP leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu did not schedule a meeting of the party’s Central Executive Board this week. People close to him told daily Hürriyet that he would instead “follow the NATO summit,” fueling expectations that no new disciplinary decisions would be announced this week.
Since returning to office, Kılıçdaroğlu’s administration has dismissed 36 provincial chairs, with 14 referred to the disciplinary committee for possible expulsion. The party also removed its women’s branch chair and sought the expulsion of nine lawmakers.
The party remains divided after a court ruling in May overturned Özel’s leadership, creating a dual leadership structure that has intensified internal tensions.
Özel and his allies have called for an extraordinary party congress to settle the leadership dispute, while the Kılıçdaroğlu-aligned faction argues that legal constraints prevent such a gathering and says the CHP should instead hold its regular convention in September.
More than 800 party delegates have signed a petition backing an extraordinary congress to elect the party’s leadership.
