13.07.2026 23:10
Following the court's 'absolute nullity' decision and his return to the CHP General Presidency, Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu responded to a question about whether he would be a candidate for the general presidency again at the congress, saying, "I have never been a candidate myself, nor have I submitted a candidacy petition. If I am nominated, I will consider it."
With the court's 'absolute nullity' decision, Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, who returned to the position of CHP General Chairman, made clear statements on tv100's live broadcast regarding internal party congress debates.
WILL HE BE A CANDIDATE AT THE CONGRESS?
Responding to journalists' questions about whether he would be a candidate for general chairman again at the congress, Kılıçdaroğlu left the door open for the candidacy process. Repeating his earlier words about "taking the party to a safe harbor as the captain," Kılıçdaroğlu answered the question about whether he would be a candidate at the upcoming congress: "Everyone who wants to be a candidate at the congress will freely run. I won't say anything about my candidacy for the congress now. We'll see when the time comes. I have never been a candidate myself, I have never submitted a candidacy application. If I am nominated, I will consider it."
"THERE IS NO POWER THAT CAN PREVENT CHP FROM PARTICIPATING IN ELECTIONS"
Kılıçdaroğlu, who found baseless the claims that "if the congress is not held by July 25-26, CHP cannot participate in the election," emphasized that the legal process is under control. Kılıçdaroğlu stated, "There is also a precautionary measure. There is a precautionary measure in Istanbul as well. We are making our preliminary preparations. If Mr. Özgür and others withdraw their applications at the Court of Cassation, the decision will be finalized. They say, 'If the congress is not held by July, the party cannot participate in elections again.' What does that mean? In the Republic of Turkey, there is no power that can prevent CHP from participating in elections."
IF ÖZGÜR ÖZEL WITHDRAWS HIS APPLICATION, HOW WILL THE CONGRESS BE HELD?
Kılıçdaroğlu also shared the timeline for how quickly the congress could be completed if Özgür Özel and his team withdrew their appeal to the Court of Cassation. Stating that the process will be conducted democratically and quickly, the CHP leader said, "It starts from the neighborhoods and is carried out, completed in the shortest possible time," indicating that party organizational elections will be organized from scratch and swiftly.
Kılıçdaroğlu also touched on his face-to-face meetings with metropolitan municipality mayors, expressing the position mayors should take in internal party debates: "I met face to face with Mayor Mansur, Vahap Bey, and Zeydan Bey. There's no problem with meeting, you can meet. If they are a CHP-affiliated mayor, they will all stand by CHP. CHP has a culture. Everyone will know this culture."