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Former CHP Chairman Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu appeared on a television channel on Monday night after the March 31 local elections and made his first comprehensive statements about the process of his presidential candidacy and its aftermath.
Kılıçdaroğlu’s comments on the KRT channel became the CHP lobby’s top topic.
Kılıçdaroğlu’s comments, in which he conveyed his message of intent to run for speaker and accused as disingenuous those who launched a “change” movement after his defeat to Erdogan in the presidential election, were met with surprise from some of his supporters in parliament – and even from senior party officials.
Names close to Kılıçdaroğlu have noted that they have “set out on a new path” by launching an opposition faction within the party. Party leaders say Kılıçdaroğlu is “running in vain” after successes in the March 31 local elections.
There are even predictions in the CHP lobby that Kılıçdaroğlu will try to turn the “statutory parliament” that will be held in September into an elective parliament, or even try to “found a new party.”
What did Kirişdaroglu say?
“If they nominate a candidate for speaker again in the parliament, I would say the brave ones should come forward,” Kılıçdaroğlu said, sending a message that he could be a speaker candidate and attributing the success of the March 31 rally to the steps taken since the local elections and during his term in office.
When asked about Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality (IMM) Mayor Ekrem İmamologlu’s release of a transformational video the day after the presidential election, the former CHP leader said: “I’m not saying that we were stabbed in vain,” he replied.
Regarding this process, Kılıçdaroğlu said, “There is a public perception that I was dishonest.”
He made no special comments
Getty Images IMM Chairman Ekrem Imamoglu and CHP Chairman Ozgur Ozer
Emphasizing that he did not push anyone to run, nor did he force himself to run, but ran at the request of all party organizations, he asked, “What would you think if it were your friends who were working together? You set out together, fought together, fought together, and said you should be a presidential candidate, but then you turned around and did the exact opposite of what you did?”
Speaking at a party group meeting on Tuesday, CHP Chairman Ozgür Ozer made no mention of his predecessor’s remarks and left journalists’ questions unanswered upon his departure.
What do Imamoglu and party leaders say?
Some party leaders blamed Kılıçdaroğlu’s decision on “an inability to digest the parliamentary defeat” and said the CHP was the first political party in half a century. “Our agenda is Turkey’s issues, not Kemal Bey,” he said. “He is our former chairman and we are not going to argue with him, we are not going to respond.”
Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality President Ekrem Imamoglu also said on TV100 channel on Tuesday night that he did not believe Kılıçdaroğlu was angry with him.
Imamoglu said he called Kılıçdaroğlu several times after the meeting but was unable to reach him and that he last saw him during the Ramadan holiday. “I don’t think he’s upset. If he says he’s ‘upset,’ I would ask him why he’s upset,” he said.
“Kemal says he is always being stabbed. Do you feel that he is saying this to you?” Imamoglu responded to the question by saying: “This is not the explanation I would give. I have never been that type of person in my life.”
Imamoglu said arguing with Kılıçdaroğlu was out of the question.
Will Kilisdaroglu go ahead with the election rally?
At the 38th CHP congress, Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu lost the general presidential election to Özgür Özer.
While his statement, which mobilised the CHP’s lobbying efforts, has been described as “Kilçdaroğlu having embarked on a new path and raised the flag of struggle within the party”, there have been differing interpretations as to whether it would trigger an unusual party congress process.
There is speculation in the lobby that Kılıçdaroğlu might try to turn the constitutional conference in September into one with a speaker election, or even take steps to found a new party, but this is seen as unlikely.
It is noted that Kılıçdaroğlu still enjoys significant support within his parliamentary group, but following his victory in the March 31 local elections, his chances of success in an internal party election are zero.
A name close to the headquarters said, “We won parliament with all the mayors supporting Kemal. Half a century after the March 31 election, the first party was born, but it is no longer possible to win parliament and it is a waste of time. Now the party is united towards success,” he commented.
It has been pointed out that Kılıçdaroğlu could only win in parliament if the CHP suffered a major electoral defeat or the local government collapsed, but such a possibility does not seem to be in the foreseeable future.
Some CHP officials believe Kılıçdaroğlu’s “anger” was due to him still having trouble digesting his parliamentary defeat.
“Of course, different segments of society contributed to the change in the CHP and voted for us. We are all responsible for the election defeat, but the party leader was Kemal, and at that time he did not run the party in an elected body, he ran it with unregistered politics. No one opposed his candidacy, we supported it. But he neutralized the Central Executive Committee and the Party Congress in many decisions.”
“What Baikal did to him, he is now doing to Ezer.”
Getty Images Former CHP leaders Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu and Deniz Baykal in 2015.
Critics of Kılıçdaroğlu’s decision point to the example of one of the CHP’s former chairmen, Deniz Baykal, who spoke out against him in the past.
According to a member of parliament who supported Kılıçdaroğlu during the parliamentary process and participated in the last Central Executive Committee meeting, Kılıçdaroğlu has taken the stance of “not hiring a new speaker.”
“We mayors supported Kemal but it didn’t work,” a CHP councillor told BBC Turkish. “The base wanted change and there was no point in forcing it on the party,” he said.
Deniz Baykal emphasized that “the attitude was to let Kemal Bey, who has a successful example, become chairman and not tie his hands,” and the lawmaker continued:
“He must know the disadvantages of a policy that does not have a chairman because he has experienced it himself. At the 2018 Constitutional Convention, the opposition parties within the party tried to force through an amendment to the method of deciding on parliamentary candidates, but the clause was ultimately passed. There was also an approach there not to let Kemal Bey work or to make him chairman.
“My respect and loyalty to Kemal remains unbroken, and now he is demonstrating a similar approach to the new chairman.”
“He poured his inner self into it.”
Some believe Kılıçdaroğlu’s harsh criticism of İmamoğlu and the reformers is justified.
A member of parliament who supported Kılıçdaroğlu in parliament and remains close to him said, “We expected him to make critical remarks, but we didn’t expect them to be so harsh,” and commented on Kılıçdaroğlu’s attitude as follows:
“The chairman spoke his mind. After all, Kemal is also a human being. He has experiences. The people who were with him a week ago became changemakers and stood before him. Insulting words were said to him.
“I think Kemal laid the foundation for success in the local elections. Of course, if Özgür makes this process successful, there will be no problem. Kemal Bey would not have taken the party to parliament if he wanted to, but he didn’t. He took the speaker’s seat with his own hands.
“Cruzdalogor’s animosity is not true. What he said on the show is true and he was right. But I wish he hadn’t said, ‘I’ll be a candidate if the delegates want me to.'”
