More than a month has passed since a court ruling removed the leadership of Turkey’s main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) and the party’s future is in limbo.
Ousted CHP chair Özgür Özel remains popular with the party base and is attempting to take back his position from the reinstalled but unpopular CHP head Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu.
To do so, Özel is pushing for a party congress in July that would allow party members to vote on their leadership, though Kılıçdaroğlu has maintained such a vote cannot take place until the conclusion of the appeals process behind his reappointment.
Ilhan Uzgel, former CHP deputy chair and foreign policy coordinator, joined the podcast today to outline recent events and the current leadership struggle within the party.
Covered in this talk are the prospects for a CHP congress this summer, the calculations behind forming a splinter party led by Özel, as well as the state of democracy in Turkey and the role of international allies, who will meet in Ankara next month for the 2026 NATO summit.
Referenced in this talk:
Ploy Division (Turkey recap)
Ilhan Uzgel: En kirli pazarlık (BirGün)
Turkey opposition crisis deepens as rival CHP leaders hold duelling meetings (Reuters)
Turkey lashes out at European Parliament report urging EU sanctions on justice minister (AP)
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