CHP turmoil grows as Özgür Özel signals new party and challenges group chairmanship

A Turkish court’s “mutlak butlan” ruling installed Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu as CHP’s interim leader, triggering a power struggle within the party. Party officials allegedly filed a request to the parliament to replace elected group chairman Özgür Özel with Tekirdağ MP Faik Öztrak, a claim the CHP headquarters later denied. Özel travelled through İzmir, repeating slogans such as “Biz bu oyunu bozarız” (“We will break this game”) and announcing a “new politics” that would culminate in a new party, with the provisional name “Yeni Parti” circulating in rumours. Polls showed the nascent party could capture between 5 % and 18 % of the vote, depending on the survey. Other CHP figures, including former presidential candidate Muharrem İnce and MP Süleyman Bülbül, voiced concerns about the party’s “curtain‑call” curtailing the extraordinary congress, hinting at legal appeals and alternative plans labeled B, C and D. Kılıçdaroğlu’s team was reported to claim “the judiciary is behind us,” referencing a source named Mehmet Uçum. Throughout, the CHP’s official spokesperson Müslim Sarı repeatedly labeled the replacement rumors as false. The dispute centres on whether Özel will retain his group leadership, launch a new party, or be sidelined as the party prepares for upcoming elections.