Turkey's CHP announces September congress timetable; new parties barred from November election

The Republican People's Party (CHP) held a Central Executive Board meeting chaired by Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu and announced that its ordinary congress will commence in the first week of September, lasting at least four months. Detailed schedules for district and provincial congresses will be released in coming days. Party officials emphasized a "safe harbor" approach, aiming for a clean, doubt‑free process to renew party organs ahead of the 2028 elections.

Constitutional law scholar Prof. Süheyl Batum explained that, under Turkey’s Political Parties Law, a newly formed party must complete full organizational requirements and hold a grand congress at least six months before an election. Given the current date in late June, a party founded now could not meet the November election deadline. The 2022 amendment that removed earlier loopholes now makes the six‑month rule mandatory, meaning only parties prepared well in advance can contest the upcoming vote.