28.06.2026 07:40
The administration of Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, who was appointed as the Chairman of the CHP by a court decision, applied to the Presidency of the Turkish Grand National Assembly to have Özgür Özel's position as the Parliamentary Group Chairman revoked and announced that Faik Öztrak has been appointed in his place. Legal experts noted that the application is controversial and reminded that similar requests were previously rejected on the grounds of being "internal party affairs." Attention is now focused on the response from the Presidency of the Assembly.
The administration of Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, who was appointed as the Chairman of the CHP by a decision of absolute nullity, took a step that escalated internal party debates to a new level. An official application was made to the Presidency of the Turkish Grand National Assembly requesting the removal of the elected CHP Chairman Özgür Özel from his position as the Head of the TBMM Group. In the application, it was stated that Tekirdağ Deputy Faik Öztrak was appointed as the Group Chairman in place of Özel. All eyes are now turned to the decision to be made by the TBMM Presidency.
CONTROVERSIAL DETAIL IN THE GROUP CHAIRMANSHIP APPLICATION
According to a report by Başak Kaya from Sözcü, following the application regarding the Group Chairmanship, there has been debate over whether the process was conducted in accordance with procedures. It was noted that, according to regulations, the Group Chairman should be determined through an election and voting held at the TBMM Group Meeting, and it was claimed that this method was not followed.
Meanwhile, it was stated that the 10-day period granted for the 830 signatures submitted to convene an extraordinary congress in the CHP has also expired. It was reported that despite the expiration of the period, no steps were taken by the CHP General Headquarters to convene the extraordinary congress.
PREVIOUS STANCE OF THE TBMM REMINDED
While legal experts highlighted that the application is legally controversial, the response previously given by the TBMM Presidency to a similar application has resurfaced.
It was recalled that in a previous application, the TBMM Presidency assessed that the matter was an internal affair of the party, stating, 'Solve it among yourselves,' and indicated it would not intervene in internal party disputes.
A SIMILAR SITUATION OCCURRED DURING THE CINDORUK ERA
It was pointed out that a similar debate occurred in the past. During the disagreement between SHP Chairman Murat Karayalçın and Group Chairman and Antalya Deputy Aydın Güven Gürkan, it was noted that the then-TBMM Speaker Hüsamettin Cindoruk emphasized that the TBMM Presidency could not interfere with the internal affairs of political parties.
Despite this precedent, it was stated that the CHP General Headquarters sent a second letter to the TBMM Presidency on the same matter and based its application on the Political Parties Law.
ARTICLE 16 OF THE POLITICAL PARTIES LAW CITED AS BASIS
Article 16 of the Political Parties Law, which the CHP General Headquarters cited as the basis for its application, includes the following statements:
"The central decision-making body may, in cases where the grand congress cannot convene due to compelling reasons, take all decisions except those regarding the termination of the party's legal existence and the amendment of the by-laws and program…"
However, it is known that a previous application based on the same article was rejected by the then-TBMM Speaker Hüsamettin Cindoruk on the grounds that 'We cannot interfere in internal party affairs.'