Ousted main opposition leader Özgür Özel has sought to address his party’s weekly meeting in parliament set for June 23, as the rival administration moves ahead with parallel party meetings.
The reinstated the Republican People’s Party (CHP) leadership under Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu prepared to convene the party’s Central Executive Board and Party Assembly on the same day, according to media reports.
The internal dispute stems from a court ruling last month that invalidated the CHP’s 2023 convention over alleged irregularities. The decision reinstated Kılıçdaroğlu and his team to leadership positions, effectively removing Özel’s administration from office.
Özel’s supporters have since pushed for an extraordinary vote to restore his mandate. The reinstated leadership has argued that the party should instead proceed with its next scheduled ordinary convention.
Tensions between the two camps have repeatedly spilled into party scheduling and parliamentary activity. Last week, neither side held the parliamentary meeting, avoiding a direct confrontation.
The previous week, however, both Özel and Kılıçdaroğlu announced plans to preside over the same gathering, prompting a standoff that was defused only when the latter said at the last minute he would instead hold a separate meeting at CHP headquarters.
In a televised interview on June 19, Kılıçdaroğlu defended the court ruling and said a new ordinary convention would be held within four to five months. Accepting the court’s decision prevented the appointment of an external trustee to run the party, he told SZC TV.
