s Turkey gears up for crucial local elections slated for March next year, the country is witnessing a fierce leadership battle within the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP). The struggle has taken center stage as these local elections hugely impact Turkey’s major cities. The CHP’s leadership struggles involve two key figures—Kemal Kilicdaroglu, the current leader of the party, and Istanbul’s charismatic mayor, Ekrem Imamoglu. Amid growing tensions within the CHP, this leadership feud has raised questions about the party’s direction and its ability to challenge the ruling AKP.
Kilicdaroglu’s Style, Stumbles
Kilicdaroglu, a 74-year-old figure in Turkish politics, is known for his quiet and soft-spoken personality. He rose to prominence as the vice president of the CHP in 2007 when he boldly denounced corruption within President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s Justice and Development Party (AKP). In 2010, Kilicdaroglu won the CHP leadership contest by a landslide, slowly but surely softening the party’s axiomatic secularism that dominated Turkey until the AKP took power in 2002.
A defining aspect of Kilicdaroglu’s leadership is his appeal to Turkey’s minorities. Breaking a taboo in Turkish politics, he publicly declared his religious identity as an Alevi, a long-stigmatized religious minority. His religious background, hailing from the predominantly Alevi and Kurdish heartland of eastern Turkey, has made him a unifying figure for marginalized communities.
However, Kilicdaroglu’s austere style and lack of charisma have led to criticism, particularly from those who view Erdogan’s flamboyant strongman brand of leadership as more appealing. Meral Aksener, the leader of the right-wing IYI Party and an important figure within the opposition Nation Alliance, broke ranks with the six-party coalition, advocating for Imamoglu and his similarly popular counterpart in the capital Ankara, Mansur Yavas, to be nominated as the joint candidate instead.
The mayors’ non-response to Akşener’s call led to a temporary rift till Kilicdaroglu’s unilateral decision to appoint them as vice-presidential candidates through his usual mediator manner.
Following his defeat in the presidential election’s second round, Kilicdaroglu maintained a prolonged silence, which was eventually broken by Imamoglu with his call for change within the party and the broader opposition. The mayor established a website to gather opinions and suggestions from voters after the poll defeat, positioning himself as a champion of democratic participation. His manifesto gained traction, and the demand for a leadership shake-up within the CHP grew louder.
Despite gaining momentum after the opposition’s victory in key mayoral elections in 2019, Kilicdaroglu has faced criticism from secular voters, notably strict Kemalists, who believe that he carried the party’s “reconciliation” strategy to excess. The CHP’s listing of 35 members from its alliance partners, including AKP offshoots DEVA and Future Party, and the Islamist Felicity Party has further fueled the controversy.
The alliance failed to secure a parliamentary majority in the May elections. Concerns have now arisen among the CHP grassroots that former allies of Erdogan may extend support to the AKP’s ruling People’s Alliance in parliamentary votes, further complicating the political landscape.
Imamoglu’s Challenge
In a series of contentious decisions in a recent 60-member party assembly meeting, objections were raised against the CHP’s provincial and district leaders who had been previously dismissed by the central executive board. The Imamoglu-led group sent a strong message with an extraordinary majority in some votings, raising speculation about a potential leadership shake-up in the main opposition party.
The charismatic mayor burst onto the political scene in 2019 when he secured a landslide victory in the Istanbul elections, ending the two-decade-long rule of the AKP in the city. The 49-year-old from the Black Sea region quickly became a symbol of hope for the opposition, gaining widespread popularity with his eloquence and promises of a new era in Turkish politics as the one who can truly challenge Erdogan’s dominance.
However, his rising popularity and bold stance on certain issues have also attracted the AKP’s ire, with the government using the judiciary to launch investigations against him, which some critics argue are politically motivated. In addition to these legal challenges, Imamoglu also faces corruption allegations that would be the subject of a case reconvening in November, just months before the crucial local elections in next March, where the opposition seeks to retain control of Istanbul and Ankara.
The mayor’s situation echoes that of Selahattin Demirtaş, former co-leader of the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP). He has been in prison since 2016 on terrorism charges linked to his political speeches. Despite the European Court of Human Rights ruling his detention as unlawful, Demirtaş remains incarcerated.
The upcoming local elections will not only determine the mayors of major cities like Istanbul and Ankara but will also serve as a litmus test for the future of Turkish politics. Whether the opposition can present a united front against Erdogan’s AKP and maintain control of key cities remains to be seen. The fight for leadership within the party will play a crucial role in shaping the opposition’s strategy and determining its path forward in the quest for a more inclusive and democratic Turkey.
Erdogan’s determination to regain control of the country’s two biggest cities has made İmamoğlu’s fate a test for whether the strongman leader’s third decade in power will be marked by a more authoritarian turn.
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Turkish Opposition Parties’ Leadership Struggles Ahead of Local Elections
Hilltop mausoleum of Kemal Atatürk, first president of modern Turkey. Image by alper şimşek from Pixabay
August 11, 2023
Turkey's opposition parties formed an alliance in the national elections in an unsuccessful bid to unseat incumbent president Erdogan. Now, in advance of pivotal local elections in March next year, a leadership feud is brewing within the main opposition group, writes Alperen Karaköse.
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s Turkey gears up for crucial local elections slated for March next year, the country is witnessing a fierce leadership battle within the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP). The struggle has taken center stage as these local elections hugely impact Turkey’s major cities. The CHP’s leadership struggles involve two key figures—Kemal Kilicdaroglu, the current leader of the party, and Istanbul’s charismatic mayor, Ekrem Imamoglu. Amid growing tensions within the CHP, this leadership feud has raised questions about the party’s direction and its ability to challenge the ruling AKP.
Kilicdaroglu’s Style, Stumbles
Kilicdaroglu, a 74-year-old figure in Turkish politics, is known for his quiet and soft-spoken personality. He rose to prominence as the vice president of the CHP in 2007 when he boldly denounced corruption within President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s Justice and Development Party (AKP). In 2010, Kilicdaroglu won the CHP leadership contest by a landslide, slowly but surely softening the party’s axiomatic secularism that dominated Turkey until the AKP took power in 2002.
A defining aspect of Kilicdaroglu’s leadership is his appeal to Turkey’s minorities. Breaking a taboo in Turkish politics, he publicly declared his religious identity as an Alevi, a long-stigmatized religious minority. His religious background, hailing from the predominantly Alevi and Kurdish heartland of eastern Turkey, has made him a unifying figure for marginalized communities.
However, Kilicdaroglu’s austere style and lack of charisma have led to criticism, particularly from those who view Erdogan’s flamboyant strongman brand of leadership as more appealing. Meral Aksener, the leader of the right-wing IYI Party and an important figure within the opposition Nation Alliance, broke ranks with the six-party coalition, advocating for Imamoglu and his similarly popular counterpart in the capital Ankara, Mansur Yavas, to be nominated as the joint candidate instead.
The mayors’ non-response to Akşener’s call led to a temporary rift till Kilicdaroglu’s unilateral decision to appoint them as vice-presidential candidates through his usual mediator manner.
Following his defeat in the presidential election’s second round, Kilicdaroglu maintained a prolonged silence, which was eventually broken by Imamoglu with his call for change within the party and the broader opposition. The mayor established a website to gather opinions and suggestions from voters after the poll defeat, positioning himself as a champion of democratic participation. His manifesto gained traction, and the demand for a leadership shake-up within the CHP grew louder.
Despite gaining momentum after the opposition’s victory in key mayoral elections in 2019, Kilicdaroglu has faced criticism from secular voters, notably strict Kemalists, who believe that he carried the party’s “reconciliation” strategy to excess. The CHP’s listing of 35 members from its alliance partners, including AKP offshoots DEVA and Future Party, and the Islamist Felicity Party has further fueled the controversy.
The alliance failed to secure a parliamentary majority in the May elections. Concerns have now arisen among the CHP grassroots that former allies of Erdogan may extend support to the AKP’s ruling People’s Alliance in parliamentary votes, further complicating the political landscape.
Imamoglu’s Challenge
In a series of contentious decisions in a recent 60-member party assembly meeting, objections were raised against the CHP’s provincial and district leaders who had been previously dismissed by the central executive board. The Imamoglu-led group sent a strong message with an extraordinary majority in some votings, raising speculation about a potential leadership shake-up in the main opposition party.
The charismatic mayor burst onto the political scene in 2019 when he secured a landslide victory in the Istanbul elections, ending the two-decade-long rule of the AKP in the city. The 49-year-old from the Black Sea region quickly became a symbol of hope for the opposition, gaining widespread popularity with his eloquence and promises of a new era in Turkish politics as the one who can truly challenge Erdogan’s dominance.
However, his rising popularity and bold stance on certain issues have also attracted the AKP’s ire, with the government using the judiciary to launch investigations against him, which some critics argue are politically motivated. In addition to these legal challenges, Imamoglu also faces corruption allegations that would be the subject of a case reconvening in November, just months before the crucial local elections in next March, where the opposition seeks to retain control of Istanbul and Ankara.
The mayor’s situation echoes that of Selahattin Demirtaş, former co-leader of the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP). He has been in prison since 2016 on terrorism charges linked to his political speeches. Despite the European Court of Human Rights ruling his detention as unlawful, Demirtaş remains incarcerated.
The upcoming local elections will not only determine the mayors of major cities like Istanbul and Ankara but will also serve as a litmus test for the future of Turkish politics. Whether the opposition can present a united front against Erdogan’s AKP and maintain control of key cities remains to be seen. The fight for leadership within the party will play a crucial role in shaping the opposition’s strategy and determining its path forward in the quest for a more inclusive and democratic Turkey.
Erdogan’s determination to regain control of the country’s two biggest cities has made İmamoğlu’s fate a test for whether the strongman leader’s third decade in power will be marked by a more authoritarian turn.
