CHP Chief Slams ‘Coup’ as Ex-Leader Tries to Expel 9 Lawmakers
The head of Turkey’s main opposition party has accused his predecessor of launching a “coup attempt” by trying to expel nine lawmakers, deepening an internal power struggle.
Özgür Özel, the current chairman of the Republican People’s Party (CHP), responded sharply to former leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu’s move to use central authority powers to remove the deputies. “This coup will be repelled,” Özel said. “The CHP will be governed by elected officials, not appointed ones.” [170659]
The dispute is part of a broader leadership crisis within the party. In a separate development, opposition politician Zeynel Emre announced that 28 members of his party’s executive board had submitted resignations through a notary, warning that refusing to hold the party congress would be illegal. “If the remaining colleagues insist on delaying the congress, they will be committing the crime of unlawfully assuming office,” Emre said. [170650]
Meanwhile, a senior opposition figure accused the government of orchestrating a secret “palace plan” to remove the CHP’s elected leadership, claiming recent efforts to sideline the party’s management are coordinated from the presidential palace. [168300] Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) leader Devlet Bahçeli dismissed the infighting as a “seat war” and a “management crisis,” warning that “foreign circles seeking to poison this will are not idle.” [169139]
Speaking in Trabzon, Özel framed the political pressure as an attack on democratic rights. “The current political process is not aimed solely at my party but directly targets the right to vote and be elected,” he said. “Our only guarantee is the nation’s will.” [167033]
Seventy-six provincial women’s branch chairs from the CHP issued a joint statement calling for party unity to achieve change and take power, referencing Özel and presidential candidate Ekrem İmamoğlu. [169886]