Turkey’s opposition sees local elections after Erdogan’s defeat.
As with other failures, Turkey’s opposition parties have started blaming each other for their defeat in last month’s general election.
The leader of the coalition of opposition parties, Kemal Kilidaroglu, said that it is his duty to guide the ship to a safe port, but he did not explain why he was unable to do so in the last election. In fact, he has lost 10 elections in which he participated. According to political analysts, in a country where democracy is properly practiced, political leaders should step aside if they fail in one or two elections in a row. Despite this and pressure from his party’s hierarchy, Kilidaroglu seems determined to continue the fight.
In the first round of presidential elections held on May 14, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan was the leading candidate, but received less than half a percent of the vote. In the second round, the ruling Justice and Development Party’s Erdogan won 52.14 percent of the vote to opposition leader Kilidaroglu’s 47.86.
Three candidates have been put forward for the presidency of the main opposition Republican People’s Party, currently known as the CHP. One is Kilicdaroglu. The second mayor of Istanbul, Ekrem Imamoglu, won this position by digging his fingers. The third, Özgur Özel, is a young and highly influential member of the party. He has publicly announced that he will not shy away from taking responsibility, that he will not shy away from sacrifices, meaning that he will run for president only if he supports Kilıdaroğlu.
There is a feeling within the Turkish opposition that a sea change is necessary. So far, only Imamoglu has submitted a comprehensive report and highlighted specific areas where the coalition of opposition parties has failed. This report revealed many failures. First, the main opposition CHP and its allies stated that they cannot turn the final election into a referendum on Erdogan. Second, Erdogan turned the election into a choice for the electorate to choose stability or chaos – and the opposition parties watched this from afar. Thirdly, the campaign became an effort to make Kilıdaroğlu a candidate for the presidential election instead of winning the election. Finally, the opposition parties failed to explain to the electorate that continuing with Erdogan would lead to more poverty for the Turkish people.
Last week Wednesday, Kilidaroglu and Imamoglu held a two-hour meeting on the outskirts of Ankara. People close to Imamoglu have stressed the need for radical changes in the party, while Kilidaroglu thinks the election of a new chairman should be postponed until next year’s local elections. This means that Kilidaroglu is not ready to give up the leadership of the party, at least after that. Other participants commented that a positive atmosphere prevailed at the meeting.
Despite pressure from his party’s hierarchy, Kilidaroglu seems intent on continuing the fight.
Yasar Yakis
There are two opportunities that willing CHP members want to take advantage of to lead the party. One of them is the General Assembly of the Party. The CHP’s regular biennial general meeting was scheduled to take place last year but has been postponed to this year. The preparatory meetings should be held at the village – or neighborhood – level, followed by the district and regional levels.
The second is local selection. This requires at least three months to organize. If there is no decision to change the date, the municipal elections are expected to be held on March 31, 2024. Therefore, the parties must hold their internal party elections months before new administrations can begin their campaigning.
Opinion is divided on whether the CHP general assembly should be held before or after local elections. If Kilidaroglu is caught early, he cannot be re-elected, meaning his dream of “guiding the ship to safe harbor” cannot come true.
Kilidaroglu is on record as saying that he will not oppose the candidacy of any party member, but that a wrong election should not allow the CHP to lose a capital city like Istanbul. The most important thing is to avoid conflict in the party, because such division can lead to division.
Chairman of the CHP parliamentary group Özül clarified his position by emphasizing that he would definitely support any candidate appointed by Kilıdaroğlu.
Kilidaroglu does not want to take a decision that could damage the political party he has led for 13 years. However, man has his choice. In a democracy, people make mistakes. Therefore, by strengthening the discussion, the right path is found again.
Another important consideration is the case of Meral Aksener’s IIE party. In last month’s parliamentary elections, this party won 9.69 percent of the vote and 44 seats in parliament. The party made the mistake of pulling out of the six-party opposition coalition – for three days. This ill-advised move must have created unrest in the party and garnered massive support from the electorate.
Erdoğan has repeatedly said that he will win Turkey, who won Istanbul in Turkey’s elections. We assume that he will do everything possible not to lose Istanbul in next year’s local elections.
• Yasar Yakis is a former Turkish foreign minister and a founding member of the ruling AK Party.
Twitter: @yakis_yasar
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