We just learned watermelons can be peeled by hand, and it’s made us question everything about our daily rind. Here’s the master’s process.
In this week’s recap:
New Party takes helm of opposition bloc
CHP ranks depleted, still getting detained
Peace process law imminent (again)
Domestic and diplomatic wraps
It’s 2026. Do you know where your uncles are?
Also from us this week:
In-house historian Emily Rice Johnson dropped This Day in Turkey’s August edition for News Tracking Tools subscribers only
By now, recap readers know ousted CHP Chair Özgür Özel launched a new party Friday. Its name is ‘Yeni Parti,’ meaning ‘New Party’. And the internet is still talking about how the ‘N’ in Yeni looks like the ‘N’ in ‘Netflix’.
Responding to this critical matter, Özel said that’s not the party logo, just the name, and a logo competition would be held “if necessary.”
Those who cannot Netflix and chill can look at the first Yeni Party office in Hatay, which does not use the scarlet letter—and which a Yeni Party staffer told us was meant to resemble folds in the Turkish flag. Okay, on with the reel news …
What to know: The breakaway party represents an objectively bold move by former CHP lawmakers seeking to reclaim the nation’s main opposition mantle after a court ruling reinstalled unpopular ex-CHP Chair Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu in May.
The move is bold because Yeni Party will face obstacles in terms of basic funding and snap election eligibility along with the ever-present threat of legal actions against government opponents.
“It’s an exciting and stressful time,” a Yeni Party staff member told Turkey recap. “The media is spreading rumors that Yeni Party is structurally weaker and more likely to get targeted with corruption probes than CHP. We’re not sure what will come next.”
In the first statement on Yeni Party from a government insider, Chief Presidential Advisor Mehmet Uçum called the splinter party “insignificant,” adding the party ranks are corrupt and that the CHP had been purified by their exit.
To date, 91 CHP MPs have transferred to Yeni Party as hundreds of provincial and municipal officials are currently in the process of changing their party memberships (covered in more detail below).
Despite the swelling ranks and the MHP’s appeal, Yeni Party cannot receive treasury funding before the next elections under current laws. So, Özel launched a fundraising campaign Wednesday, appealing to supporters for help in filling the immediate financing gap (on the heels of a major fundraising scandal in Turkey).
In the meantime, procedural and administrative prep work churns behind closed doors, as with Yeni Party’s first group meeting Tuesday, which was for party officials only and involved bureaucratic measures, a Yeni Party source told Turkey recap.
New party, new hue? The party program is online and repeats the phrase “We will change this oppressive system” a total of 15 times. Much of the program will sound familiar to CHP followers, though with a few tweaks. Here are some core initiatives:
A return to the parliamentary system
Implementing Constitutional Court and ECHR rulings
Re-adopting the Istanbul Convention on violence against women
Mother tongue and equal citizenship as basic rights
Accelerating the EU accession process
What’s different is Yeni Party seems to be positioning itself as more “pro-Western” and more progressive than the CHP, said Çağdaş Üngör, a professor of Political Science and International Relations at Marmara University in Istanbul.
In a new commentary, Üngör argued the party program “shows an attempt” to merge foundational Kemalist principles with post-Kemalist ideals on pluralism and minority rights.
“They will have to appeal to more people than the regular CHP base,” Üngör told Turkey recap, adding this was “mathematically” necessary for electoral success.
“All these Kemalist principles, they cannot let that go because that’s been the backbone of opposition right now for so many years,” she continued. “But keeping them should not be a barrier for [Yeni Party] to reach other people, as well. So, there is a delicate balance there.”
A Yeni Party staff member expressed similar sentiments in an interview with Turkey recap, stating the party has a new image that may appeal to voters who are “allergic” to CHP’s legacy.
The staffer also expressed grief for having to leave the CHP, but said even voters who supported Kılıçdaroğlu in the past, could not support his reinstallation by a politicized judiciary—resulting in a mass exodus of both members and voters to Yeni Party.
The takeaway: Apart from the immediate obstacles regarding party funding, eligibility and prosecutions, the main question going forward is whether Yeni Party can draw support beyond the traditional CHP voter base before the next elections.
“If it goes smoothly, I think there’s a good chance that they can appeal to undecided voters in Turkey, especially the younger generation,” Üngör said.
“What they promise is basically more freedom,” she added. “You don’t even have to go for a very sophisticated agenda. Many people, especially the younger people, are [feeling] very much restricted.”
Kemal night long: CHP ranks depleted, still getting detained
