15.06.2026 19:31
The leadership crisis and congress tension between Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu and Özgür Özel in the CHP have brought the main opposition party to a crossroads. Haberler.com Ankara Representative Şerife Güzel stated that Özgür Özel and his team's space for politics under the CHP roof has narrowed, and a new roadmap, primarily the "Single Party" formula, is being discussed behind the scenes.
The ongoing leadership and congress debates within the CHP have brought a brand new claim to the forefront in Ankara's political circles.
Şerife Güzel, the Ankara representative of Haberler.com closely following the process, reminded that Özgür Özel has the right to hold group meetings in the Turkish Grand National Assembly (TBMM) as long as he continues his role as group chairman. However, Güzel, noting the deepening crisis within the party, stated that remaining under the CHP roof is becoming increasingly difficult for Özel and his team, and that drawing a new political roadmap has become inevitable.
Sharing the new roadmap being discussed in Ankara circles for Özel and his team, Güzel conveyed that the administration of the Technology Development Party (TEK Party) could be taken over and organized for elections. Güzel said, “It is being said that by changing the name of TEK Party, convening a congress, and forming a new structure, Özgür Özel and his team can organize it to enter elections.”
Güzel's assessments are as follows:
“ÖZEL CAN HOLD GROUP MEETINGS IN PARLIAMENT AS LONG AS HE MAINTAINS HIS GROUP CHAIRMANSHIP”
“As you know, last week there was a significant conflict over the group meeting, nearly escalating into an intra-party scuffle. Both figures had stated they would hold a group meeting. Özgür Özel's supporters arrived at the group meeting hall very early, and both figures had visitors and party members summoned to Ankara. They also gathered at the entrances of Parliament, assembled, and there was a serious altercation among them. Later, after Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu issued a statement indicating he would not attend the group meeting, and following his request for a visitor ban at Parliament, which the Presidency and the Speaker's Office imposed, the situation calmed down.
Özgür Özel spoke at the Parliament podium, while Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu spoke at the party headquarters. Last week, Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu referred deputy group chairmen Gökhan Günaydın and Ali Mahir Başarır to the disciplinary board with a demand for expulsion. Since this was a request with precautionary measures, they were suspended from their duties. Currently, only Murat Emir remains as deputy group chairman, but Özgür Özel continues his role as group chairman. Therefore, as long as Özgür Özel maintains his group chairmanship, he can say, ‘I am holding a group meeting in Parliament.’ This week, Özgür Özel might again say, ‘I will hold the group meeting.’ Murat Emir can open the meeting as deputy group chairman. In fact, Özgür Özel can even elect new deputy group chairmen to replace the two individuals whose ties with the CHP have been effectively severed due to expulsion demands. After all, we saw last week at the group meeting that Özgür Özel had over 80 MPs by his side.
This week, more than half, in fact most of the MPs, already appear to be on his side. Having one extra MP does not prevent him from holding a new election. If he says this week, ‘I am holding a closed group meeting and will hold an election,’ I think it would not be a surprise for us. What does Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu do? Would he come here from headquarters? He said last week that he did not want to give the impression of a fight and wanted to avoid being a party to this conflict. For that reason, he stated he would not hold the group meeting and would address citizens and party members at headquarters. We expect Kılıçdaroğlu to show a similar stance again.
“CONGRESS SIGNATURES WILL BE DELIVERED TO HEADQUARTERS TODAY”
Özgür Özel had previously announced signature numbers, which were on the agenda last week. They had already started collecting signatures immediately after the absolute nullity decision. Özgür Özel says they have reached a thousand signatures. He states that the petitions regarding the congress demands are ready and that they will deliver them to headquarters today. We expect these signatures to be delivered to headquarters by the end of business hours today.
What happens when the signatures are delivered? If Özgür Özel and his team's demand is for a thousand signatures, they are giving this number to indicate that there is more than enough, even if a thousand signatures aren't strictly necessary. Will these signatures be acted upon? What response will headquarters give? That’s also an important question. However, the CHP members I spoke with say these signatures have no meaning and the demand holds no significance. Because there is a court decision in place. This injunction decision involves a change in administration. The Court of Cassation process is still ongoing. They say it is not possible to take any action on the signatures until the Court of Cassation process is completed. Therefore, the signatures submitted by Özgür Özel and his team will be delivered to headquarters, but under the current picture, it seems they will remain just that—delivered.
ÖZEL’S PLAN B IS READY: HE WILL TAKE OVER THE ADMINISTRATION OF TEK PARTY
We know that Özgür Özel's team has been seeking a new party for a long time. These things have been discussed in the corridors. The party's name was even known, but it wasn't something that could be openly talked about. Özgür Özel himself stated that ‘there should be not just one, but two parties.’ He mentioned that when the DEM Party faced a similar issue, they kept a second backup party ready. The information we have gathered indicates both that a new party, eligible to enter elections, will be prepared, and that they might enter into an electoral alliance with one of the major parties currently represented in Parliament. Since CHP members have mentioned the name of this party, I can also bring it up. There is a party in Ankara called TEK Party. It's a party whose name is not widely known, and despite claims of being organized everywhere, it's unclear whether it is fully organized or not. It is being said that by changing the name of this party, convening a congress, and forming a new structure, Özgür Özel and his team can organize it to enter elections. Since CHP members have mentioned this, I want to state that it's being discussed in the corridors. I mean, it's not certain that this is absolutely what will happen, but the name TEK Party is gradually being brought up in the corridors.
On the other hand, for example, DSP Chairman stated that they are in talks with DSP. We are also receiving information that there has been contact with the İYİ Party, so that a joint list could be possible for elections. We saw some traces of this in Musavat Dervişoğlu's meeting with Özgür Özel and in his statements after the meeting. We saw some clues in Musavat Dervişoğlu's speech at the group meeting. That is, Dervişoğlu had already given the message that they could be ready for such cooperation. I think this stands as a second alternative in their plan.
“KILIÇDAROĞLU SUPPORTERS SAY WE WILL NOT EXPEL ÖZEL”
As I said, this week is more critical. Because Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu did not expel Özgür Özel, and he continues his group chairmanship. Unless Özgür Özel resigns or leaves, he can continue his life as group chairman in the CHP.”
Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu cannot remove him from his position as he came through an election, as we said. However, he needs to refer him to the disciplinary board, issue a precautionary expulsion decision, or send the expulsion request to discipline. Kılıçdaroğlu's supporters say that Özgür Özel already expects this, that they want him to expel us, and they want to leave the party this way. Therefore, they say, 'We will not give them this opportunity.' They state that the group deputy chairman, who was referred to discipline with two expulsion requests, was sent to discipline because their name appears in the indictment. Thus, Murat Emir remains as the group deputy chairman. There does not seem to be a tendency to take a very swift step regarding the expulsion of other names on Kılıçdaroğlu's front.
“WE WILL EXPECT QUITE INTENSE EXPULSIONS FROM THE PARTY”
First of all, Kılıçdaroğlu is making an effort to solve the problem regarding this group. However, as we said, his options are somewhat limited. This is due to the group chairman being elected. Last week, he wrote to the Parliament Presidency. Kılıçdaroğlu requested that the group rooms, and the rooms of Özgür Özel and the group deputy chairmen, be vacated. The Parliament Presidency has not taken any action on this matter so far. And we do not expect a very swift step to be taken either. We had learned that the nameplates of Ali Mahir Başarır and Gökhan Günaydın, who lost their group deputy chairmanships, were removed from their rooms. However, whether they vacated their rooms themselves or not will become clear during the week and after today. Therefore, we do not expect the Parliament Presidency to take much action to empty the rooms. This is a situation that the party itself must handle, or it must happen through the will of those using the room within the party. They can remove nameplates, but they cannot remove Özgür Özel's nameplate since his group chairmanship continues. Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu is trying to solve this group problem by writing to the Parliament Presidency, but as I said, his path is somewhat difficult.
On the other hand, there is the issue of the organizations. Regarding the organizations, I would say those who do not 'pledge allegiance' to him. We expect an acceleration in the removals from duty and referrals to discipline for organizations that have declared they do not want to work with him. On the other side, there are the mayors. A review process is underway regarding mayors who have investigations against them and have undergone operations with files, and as a result of these reviews, we can say that we will expect quite intense expulsions from the party in the coming days. We also expect this to accelerate with the organizational aspect. Otherwise, he will not have a chance to dominate his organization.
“THE ACTIONS AND PROCESSES ÖZEL CAN TAKE AS GROUP CHAIRMAN ARE VERY LIMITED”
Yes, we stated this while explaining the issue earlier, but it is worth reiterating. Whether Özgür Özel will remain in the CHP from now on is a matter of curiosity. Because initially, he stated that they were not inclined to leave. He said, 'The CHP has an institutional identity, and we will continue our struggle here until the end.' Özgür Özel preferred to continue his struggle by staying in Parliament and managing the group there, but on the other hand, in evaluations we have received from other names in political parties, they say, 'Özgür Özel made a mistake by staying in Parliament, essentially imprisoning himself there.' The political evaluations are in this direction.
Because the parliamentary group chairmanship is a governing body within the political party chairman's structure, like other organizations and the headquarters management; the parliamentary group constitutes a structure where only legislative activities are carried out and organized here. Therefore, Özgür Özel can continue to say, 'I am the group chairman.' As long as he continues, Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu can do what he wants there, make the decisions he wants at the headquarters, make expulsion decisions, and dominate the organization. The actions Özgür Özel can take are limited to expressing himself through events such as group meetings once a week or at times he requests, or other activities like press conferences, and finding a platform. He can go to his own organizations and hold meetings with names who support him from the organizations, but the actions and processes he can take as group chairman are very limited. For example, if an election decision were made and the election process had begun, the person who would prepare the party's candidate lists is Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu. Therefore, Özgür Özel has no chance of finding a field of activity or a right to speak there. And for this reason, it seems somewhat necessary for him to leave his party and chart a new path for himself.