I can’t say I particularly enjoy writing about Turkey’s main opposition party, the CHP (Republican People’s Party). But that’s where the pulse of politics beats. It is the country’s most dynamic party at the moment, with constant activity.
Özgür Özel, the current leader of the CHP (elected in 2023 after Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu lost the national election), is on the campaign trail almost every night. Crowds are surprisingly strong—even in places that were once strongholds of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s ruling AKP (Justice and Development Party). Özel, who initially seemed like a placeholder, has grown quickly into the leadership role. To be fair, he is doing the job well.
We could even say: “A new politician is being born!” The CHP has now drawn its main defensive line around Istanbul. It resisted “like lions” when the government imposed a kayyım (trustee) on its own Istanbul provincial branch, effectively trying to seize control. The people stood by the party, even at the cost of clashing with riot police and choking on tear gas outside party headquarters.
Police in the Party Headquarters
Mahmut Tanal, a CHP member of parliament, shared a disturbing scene: police officers lounging inside the CHP’s Istanbul provincial office, eating at desks where secretaries normally sit. The building was damaged, littered with food scraps. It looked like a war zone. Everything else might be forgotten, but not that image. One day, the reckoning will come.
I doubt Gürsel Tekin—an older CHP figure and former deputy who recently accepted the government-imposed trustee role—expected such scenes. He thought he could stabilize matters in a paternal “big brother” role. But the move backfired badly. He ended up entering his own party headquarters flanked by police.
Was Tekin simply consumed by ambition, or were promises made behind closed doors? Hard to say. But his political career seems finished. Of course, Turkish politics is full of comebacks—but still.
The Tekin–Gündoğdu Meeting
Journalist Ozan Gündoğdu recalled meeting Gürsel Tekin about a year ago. Tekin was already searching for a new political direction. According to Gündoğdu: “He invited me for coffee. We met in a pastry shop in Levent [a district of Istanbul]. We spoke for half an hour—he spoke for 29 minutes. He said the 2023 elections were the last, that the state would never allow Ekrem İmamoğlu or the CHP to take power. The only option was to start a new party. He told me, ‘We must establish a new party, and you should lead it.’ I immediately declined.”
Tekin later confirmed this account. So it really happened. Yet wasn’t he supposed to be loyal to CHP? He had even started organizing a new party. Apparently, he failed. He seeks a “new” path but not with the “old” names. The future belongs to those who open a front for democracy, justice, and morality. If he merely becomes an extension of AKP’s politics, he has no chance. Turkish society is saturated with AKP-style authoritarian politics. Inevitably, a new movement will emerge. Today’s political convulsions are signs of that.
Kılıçdaroğlu’s Silence
Against this backdrop, Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu’s silence is deafening. Kılıçdaroğlu, who led CHP from 2010 until 2023 and built the “Table of Six” opposition alliance, has said nothing while the party faces a crisis over the trustee. He seems still to have his eye on reclaiming the party chair. But Kılıçdaroğlu is a defeated man. He cannot rise from the ashes.
The May 2023 election was Erdoğan’s toughest test in years. The opposition alliance was Kılıçdaroğlu’s creation. He played the game well—yet in the end he lost. He effectively handed Erdoğan victory “on a silver platter.”
As for Gürsel Tekin, the political burden of his role in the trustee episode will not be forgotten. He resisted instead of resigning. Yet just as promising figures were emerging in CHP—like Ekrem İmamoğlu, the mayor of Istanbul, and Mansur Yavaş, the mayor of Ankara, both widely seen as potential rivals to Erdoğan—Kılıçdaroğlu insisted on being the presidential candidate himself. He took the risk, and he lost badly.
The Rise of İmamoğlu and Özel
CHP’s base now craves victory. After years of disappointments, the party faithful long to win. İmamoğlu, who famously defeated Erdoğan’s party twice in Istanbul’s municipal elections (2019), has already shown he can beat AKP at the ballot box. It is only natural that the base has gravitated toward him and his allies.
This is how Özgür Özel—an ally of İmamoğlu—defeated Kılıçdaroğlu in the 2023 party congress and became leader.
Kılıçdaroğlu could have remained in politics as a respected elder statesman. Instead, he jumped back into the fray. Don’t be fooled by his silence—he is deeply involved. Turkish politics is driven by ego and personal ambition. Yes, he was pushed out. Many criticized him. But is retreating in bitterness the right response?
His party is finally on the rise. The March 31, 2024 local elections brought one of CHP’s greatest victories in modern history, capturing many of AKP’s strongholds. Since then, Erdoğan has looked shaken. Even he seems aware that his heavy-handed tactics against CHP are backfiring. In this context, shouldn’t Kılıçdaroğlu, despite his heartbreak, stand with his party?
Looking Ahead
Hikmet Çetin, another senior CHP figure and former foreign minister, recently said of Kılıçdaroğlu: “He is trying to return to the party.” Kılıçdaroğlu neither denied nor confirmed it. His eyes are on what insiders call “Red Monday,” when the extraordinary party congress will convene.
Meanwhile, Özgür Özel and his allies are already prepared. They have launched the extraordinary congress process with approval from the Supreme Election Council. If Kılıçdaroğlu continues chasing small calculations, he will meet the same fate as Gürsel Tekin. Does he not see Tekin’s downfall? Is becoming a pawn in Erdoğan’s political game what befits him?
This is not just a CHP matter—it is a matter for Turkey’s democracy.
I didn’t want to write about CHP, but I did. Because in the face of Erdoğan’s erosion of democracy, justice, and morality, political opposition matters. Social opposition is vibrant—but it struggles to find a political home. CHP is one opportunity. Erdoğan doesn’t seem to realize that no amount of political engineering can block the tide of popular opposition that may soon sweep both him and his throne away.
And if not CHP, then another party will rise.
