24.07.2026 14:00
At the moment when the New Party was established and CHP lost its main opposition status, falling to 5th place in Parliament, a meaningful video was shared by Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu. The images of Kılıçdaroğlu performing the sleeve-rolling gesture associated with Ekrem İmamoğlu dominated the political agenda.
Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, who was appointed as the Chairman of CHP by a court decision, shared a striking video at the very moment the founding petition of the NEW Party was submitted to the Ministry of Interior. In the video released as his party lost its main opposition status and fell to fifth place, Kılıçdaroğlu's gesture associated with Ekrem İmamoğlu drew attention.
HE MADE THE GESTURE ASSOCIATED WITH IMAMOĞLU
At the time the official founding steps of the NEW Party were being taken, a video message was released to the public via social media. In the video, Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, emphasizing the forgotten segments of society, expressed his political understanding with the following words:
“My duty is to come together with the segments of society that have intense problems but are forgotten. I set out to solve the problems of people who collect paper from the trash, as well as those who earn their livelihood with sweat in the fields regardless of working hours. This is my understanding of politics.”
The final part of the shared video included footage of Kılıçdaroğlu rolling up his sleeves. The sharing of this gesture, which has become one of Ekrem İmamoğlu's political symbols, precisely at the time when CHP was losing ground in Parliament, was interpreted as a meaningful message.
HISTORIC CHANGE IN PARLIAMENT: CHP DROPS TO 5TH PLACE
The NEW Party, joined by 91 deputies who resigned from CHP, rose to the position of the new main opposition party in the Grand National Assembly of Turkey with its newly formed group. Following the mass defection, the Republican People's Party, whose seat count dropped to 44, fell to the position of the 5th largest party in Parliament.
The resulting seat distribution is as follows:
- AK Party: 277 Ruling Party
- New Party: 91 Main Opposition Party
- DEM Party: 56 3rd Party
- MHP 46: 4th Party
- CHP 44: 5th Party