Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu faces CHP split as Özgür Özel pushes leadership race

After a Turkish court annulled the previous CHP leadership election, Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu was reinstated as party chairman. He disclosed that a businessperson covered his vehicle and security‑team expenses after the party stopped funding them, but refused to reveal the donor’s identity.

CHP group leader Özgür Özel publicly challenged Kılıçdaroğlu, urging a direct contest for the chairmanship with the party’s two‑million members. He warned he would leave politics if he received less than 90 % of the vote and simultaneously prepared the legal steps for an extraordinary congress and the filing of a new party’s foundation paperwork. Other party officials, including Manisa provincial head Engin Uzun, said Özel is unlikely to secure local support, while Kılıçdaroğlu created a special committee to audit investigations of CHP mayors and officials.

The feud has spilled into accusations of FETÖ‑linked activists backing Özel on social media, and into regional actions such as Trabzon party members keeping the local headquarters continuously occupied. The internal struggle threatens to fragment the main opposition party ahead of upcoming elections.