Türkiye's first and oldest political party (1923-1980; 1992-), the CHP (Republican People's Party), is often labelled the "party of congresses" due to strong factionalism within the party, which has led to fierce leadership competition. In that sense, established by modern Türkiye's founder and the first President of the Republic, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, simultaneously with the Republic itself, the party had a leadership transition process in democratic congresses in 1972, 2010, and 2023. During these leadership changes, the party also had transformed ideologically and eventually has become a modern social democratic catch-all political party that prioritizes European Union (EU) membership for Türkiye's future to honor the past efforts of modernization.
Bülent Ecevit and İsmet İnönü in 1972
In 1972, during the 5th Extraordinary Congress of the party, the second President of the Republic and second chair of the party, İsmet İnönü (İsmet Pasha), had to step down against Bülent Ecevit, who eventually became the third chair of the party. Ecevit transformed CHP from a Kemalist/Atatürkist/statist party into a populist left-wing party and became successful in winning elections in 1973 and 1977 after long years of the dominance of right-wing politics. But the party was closed down by the military regime, similar to all political parties in the country after the September 12, 1980 coup. However, it was reestablished by Deniz Baykal, İsmail Cem, and many other former popular party members in 1992. Deniz Baykal was elected the party's chair, and a new political process had begun. Despite having a strong grip over the party by controlling the delegates, "factionalist" Baykal had to step down two times in 1995 and 1999 due to the merger process with the SHP in 1995 and poor electoral performance in 1999. During these transition processes, Hikmet Çetin and Altan Öymen served as party chairs for a short while. But each time Baykal was able to make a come back and get the leadership again, thanks to his control over the delegates.
Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu and Deniz Baykal
In 2010, after a sextape scandal, the party's long-serving fourth chair Deniz Baykal had to resign, and during the 33rd Ordinary Congress, the party's popular deputy Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu was elected the 7th chair of the party after Mustafa Kemal Atatürk (1923-38), İsmet İnönü (1938-72), Bülent Ecevit (1972-80), Deniz Baykal (1992-95; 1995-99; 2000-10), Hikmet Çetin (1995-95), and Altan Öymen (1999-2000). However, despite his 13-year efforts to increase his party's votes from 20% to 50%, after Kılıçdaroğlu's shocking defeat in the 2023 presidential election against Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, in the 38th Ordinary Congress of CHP, the party's young deputy, Özgür Özel, was unexpectedly elected the 8th chair against Kılıçdaroğlu. Özel was supported by Ekrem İmamoğlu from behind, the party's popular İstanbul Mayor. In that sense, his leadership at the beginning seemed weak and indirect due to the strong support of İmamoğlu among the delegates.
Ekrem İmamoğlu and Özgür Özel
However, due to corruption charges and legal processes against the party and especially against the İstanbul Metropolitan Municipality (İBB), Özel had to defend his chair/leadership 3 more times at the 20th Extraordinary Congress in September 2024, at the 21st Extraordinary Congress in April 2025, and at the 22nd Extraordinary Congress in September 2025. Özel was reelected for a fourth time on November 29-30, 2025, at the 39th Ordinary Congress of the party, by taking all votes from the party delegates (1.333 votes from 1.333 delegates). Moreover, Özel's list was fully approved, and all of his 80 candidates were elected to the party assembly. This shows that Özgür Özel is now the uncontested leader of the party. His leadership is not weak and indirect anymore, and we can conclude that CHP now is the party of Özgür Özel rather than Ekrem İmamoğlu, although Özel continues to support İmamoğlu's legal struggle against the charges.
Erdoğan and Özel
Özel's reelection for a fourth time also shows that he could become President Erdoğan's opponent in the next presidential election. That is because Özel enjoys full support from his party members and delegates, and other potential candidates have some problems. For instance, CHP's popular İstanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu is in jail due to corruption and organized crime charges against him. The party's other popular Mayor from Ankara, Mansur Yavaş, lacks the support Özel enjoys within the party since he comes from a very different political background (ultranationalist MHP). Moreover, after defeating his leadership in 4 different congresses, Özel can now rightfully claim his candidacy in the next presidential election. That is why it seems like Özgür Özel's star continues to rise, and he could become Türkiye's next President with the current trend.
Since democracy is based on a responsible competition between the government and the opposition, we wish both the governing AK Parti and the main opposition party, CHP, good luck in their political struggle. We hope that Turkish people will make the right decision.
Prof. Dr. Ozan ÖRMECİ
Hiç yorum yok:
Yorum Gönder