Former CHP leader Kılıçdaroğlu says ‘betrayed by’ party members

Duvar English

Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, Turkish main opposition Republican People’s Party’s (CHP) previous leader, on Feb. 7 commented on the party congress in which he lost the party leadership. 

During a KRT TV live broadcast, Kılıçdaroğlu was asked about his remarks that he was “stabbed behind his back,” which he said in the party congress back in November 2023. 

Kılıçdaroğlu said, “Your companion should not betray you. If there is hesitation, a different opinion, this can be expressed and criticized very easily,” referring to some CHP members without explicitly mentioning any name. 

“This is already in the fabric of the CHP. We have a culture of criticism and we always value criticism. I never interrupted my friends who criticized me during my leadership, because there may be something right in that criticism,” he argued.

After losing the presidential race to Erdoğan in May 2023, Kılıçdaroğlu also lost the party congress held in November of the same year to Özgür Özel. His 13-year rule in the party ended in the congress. 

Kılıçdaroğlu also commented on President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s recent referring to that congress as a “shady congress.” 

“As far as I know, Erdoğan said ‘shady congress’ a few times. The authorized bodies of the party or (Özgür Özel) should come out and make a very clear statement. They should say, 'Who are you to call the CHP's congress a shady congress?’.”

Kılıçdaroğlu also reiterated that his presidential candidacy in 2023 was not a “wrong move.” 

“I never said, ‘I am going to be a presidential candidate.’ We first decided at the Table of Six what we would do if we came to power, what we would promise to the nation. All decisions were taken unanimously at the table. The decision was taken, I became a presidential candidate and that was it,” he said, referring to the main opposition alliance at the time.

After losing the election to Erdoğan, Kılıçdaroğlu was heavily criticized for “imposing” his candidacy to smaller opposition parties and to the CHP.

He also criticized the CHP’s decision to hold a primary to name its presidential candidate, arguing, “There is still a long time. Why are we splitting the party now?”

The presidential and general elections are scheduled to be held in 2028 in case of no early election. 

In response to Kılıçdaroğlu, Özgür Özel said on Feb. 8 that he did not take the betrayal remarks “personally, because I never betrayed.” 

For Erdoğan’s “shady” remarks, Özel said, “If we were to respond to what Mr. Erdoğan said in order to stir up a political party… For 14 years, Erdoğan has been saying things that did not happen at our previous congress and at the congress where Mr. Kemal was elected. Did we respond at all? If I respond to it, I would be ashamed of the efforts of those who have worked for the party founded by Atatürk and its 1.6 million members today.”