06-26-2026, 01:35 PM
From The Economist
Alternative
Last month a Turkish court ousted the Republican People’s Party leader, Ozgur Ozel, and replaced him with Kemal Kilicdaroglu (pictured), the party’s former chairman and loser of the 2023 presidential elections. It was the latest salvo in the war of attrition that Turkey’s president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, has been waging against the country’s democracy and its main opposition group.
Mr Kilicdaroglu now faces open rebellion. Over 800 delegates are calling for an extraordinary congress to elect a new leader. Unless he takes action by Friday, the rebels will ask the courts to step in. But Mr Kilicdaroglu argues that preparations for a congress could only start in September. He has meanwhile begun a purge, ousting Mr Ozel’s supporters from provincial leadership positions.
Mr Ozel faces a tough choice. Trying to wrest back control over the CHP risks a prolonged crisis. And there are major legal and financial hurdles to founding a rival party. Mr Erdogan has the CHP right where he wants it.
Alternative
Last month a Turkish court ousted the Republican People’s Party leader, Ozgur Ozel, and replaced him with Kemal Kilicdaroglu (pictured), the party’s former chairman and loser of the 2023 presidential elections. It was the latest salvo in the war of attrition that Turkey’s president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, has been waging against the country’s democracy and its main opposition group.
Mr Kilicdaroglu now faces open rebellion. Over 800 delegates are calling for an extraordinary congress to elect a new leader. Unless he takes action by Friday, the rebels will ask the courts to step in. But Mr Kilicdaroglu argues that preparations for a congress could only start in September. He has meanwhile begun a purge, ousting Mr Ozel’s supporters from provincial leadership positions.
Mr Ozel faces a tough choice. Trying to wrest back control over the CHP risks a prolonged crisis. And there are major legal and financial hurdles to founding a rival party. Mr Erdogan has the CHP right where he wants it.