Roads first made Ankara and then its viral trends. This week’s social media phenomenon involves testing which cars can conquer a very steep incline in Çankaya. Toros lover, there’s no other.
In this week’s recap:
CHP camps signal party split
Opposition resignations and hesitations
Trump pushes $700M jet engine sale to Turkey
Domestic and diplomatic wraps
Summit prep unleashes AI maps, fake news and dawn raids
Also from us this week:
Ousted CHP Deputy Chair Ilhan Uzgel on his party’s leadership struggle
There’s a growing chance Turkey’s main opposition party will soon see its cadres part ways.
With compromise unlikely more than a month after a court reinstalled former CHP chair Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, party factions are increasingly signaling a potential split.
The majority of party members—and their electorate—are expected to stick with ousted CHP chair Özgür Özel and his next step will be publicized soon, a CHP MP told Turkey recap, requesting anonymity to speak openly about party dynamics.
“July is an important deadline for discussions about forming a new party,” the MP said. “The judicial year will end, and courts will go on recess until September. We expect a decision [on a splinter party] before the break.”
What happened: Speaking Tuesday at the CHP parliamentary group meeting, Özel said the party “has been effectively shut down by a palace coup,” adding that current party representatives were appointed by a “judge acting under the instructions of the AKP.”
“We are waging a great struggle within the party. We will resist to the end. We will either find a way or create one,” Özel said, drawing fervent applause from his audience.
As covered in previous recaps, both Özel and his supporters have emphasized that creating or joining another party would be considered a last-resort option if Kılıçdaroğlu cannot be persuaded to hold a party congress in the near-term.
At the same time, they have reiterated that July represents a deadline for such a decision, citing concerns that Özel would be ineligible to run in snap elections if they are held this year. Essentially, anything is possible, and staying in leadership limbo limits Özel’s options.
Camp Kılıçdaroğlu: As for the other side, Kılıçdaroğlu unapologetically doubled down on his stances—including lifting immunities—during a two-hour live TV interview Friday night that is summarized here.
Regarding prospects for a party congress, which would allow CHP members to elect their leadership, Kılıçdaroğlu said a vote was possible in “four to five months,” though not with the current party delegates.
Kılıçdaroğlu’s spokesperson Müslim Sarı later said the process for an ordinary congress would begin in early September.
Meanwhile, Kılıçdaroğlu’s administration continues to “purify” the party ranks with anti-corruption purges that will affect the congress vote results.
The CHP Central Executive Board (MYK) Tuesday dissolved the party’s Antalya and Kayseri provincial organizations. Seventy-four party members, including some of the recently dismissed, issued a statement Wednesday saying they did not recognize Kılıçdaroğlu’s expulsions.
The clock is ticking: The CHP MP quoted above said the Özel camp is working to trigger a party congress as soon as possible, but the source expressed reservations.
“Whoever made the ruling to reinstall Kılıçdaroğlu will also block or delay the appeals process and all legal efforts to reunite the CHP,” the CHP MP told Turkey recap.
The source added this is a “stressful” time for the party and expressed frustration over the national media attention on internal party politics, which serves to undermine the opposition’s image as a viable competitor in the next election cycle.
“This is a maneuver by Erdoğan to make the opposition inefficient and weak. I believe that whatever happens next, it should happen quickly so we can turn back to our main job, which is to struggle for power in this country,” the CHP MP said, referring to winning elections.
“If this goes on for months or years, the people will punish all of us,” the source added.
Cowed control: Opposition resignations and hesitations
