By Nergis Demirkaya
The main opposition, the CHP, has had a tough year of operations targeting its municipalities and lawsuits against its party congress. According to party officials, the appointment of Akın Gürlek — who oversaw the municipal investigations — as justice minister signals that the road to elections may become even more challenging.
The CHP response is two-fold: preparing legal outcomes such as the “absolute nullity” case that could spark internal party turmoil, at the same time as launching a new campaign aimed at expanding voter support in line with its goal of coming to power.
The anniversary of March 19 when numerous mayors — including presidential candidate Ekrem İmamoğlu — were detained, is approaching. The CHP, which has held 92 rallies nationwide, concentrating on Istanbul, is preparing to mark the anniversary. Thirty-nine rallies have been organized across Istanbul’s 39 districts. Three more major rallies will take place in the city before March 19. Following these countdown gatherings, supporters will convene on the night linking March 18 to March 19 in Saraçhane, home to the Istanbul Municipality. The action on what the party calls the “anniversary of the coup” is intended as a show of strength.
March is not only the anniversary of the operation. It is also the month when the first hearings will be held in the case opened under the corruption investigation that led to İmamoğlu’s arrest. The defense statements to be delivered by İmamoğlu and the other detainees, who will appear before a judge on March 9, are critical. CHP headquarters and lawmakers will monitor the trial. Describing the process as political rather than a corruption case, the CHP aims to put the process itself on trial.
FIRST THE TEAM, THEN THE FIELD CAMPAIGN
After those actions for the trials and the anniversary, the CHP will move into a new phase. The 1.5 to 2 years leading up to the elections will mark the beginning of a long-term campaign aligned with the party’s ambition to assume power.
The new campaign will begin on March 2 with the introduction of more than 300 people who will shape the party’s prospective government program. According to a senior CHP official who spoke to Turkey in Depth, the party will take to the field as of April. In this new phase, rallies in Istanbul districts will continue in a revised format, focusing largely on opening ceremonies tied to municipal services and projects. CHP Chair Özgür Özel will maintain his weekly provincial rallies, but a broader, more comprehensive grassroots effort will also be launched. Lawmakers, members of the Party Assembly, shadow ministers working within the Presidential Candidate’s Office, and members of policy boards will all take part.
TRAVERSING THE COUNTRY
With 138 lawmakers in Parliament, the CHP will only keep 45 deputies in Ankara for legislative work. Around 100 deputies will travel in three groups, visiting a different city each week. These teams — comprising deputy group chairs, deputy chairs, and shadow ministers, totaling around 30 people — aim to leave no corner untouched, from visits to professional chambers and unions to district tours, marketplace walks, and meetings in local coffeehouses. A CHP executive lawmaker described the effort as follows:
“We will adopt an approach that goes to the people, rather than calling them to rallies. Anatolia will be covered inch by inch. In the provinces they visit, the teams will leave no city, district, or town untouched. In this period leading up to the elections, we will traverse the entire country.”
BUILDING A POSITIVE AGENDA
The content of this new phase — aimed at establishing direct, one-on-one engagement with citizens — will also differ from previous efforts. Having renewed its party program, the CHP is now working on its government program. As party representatives disperse across the provinces in April, they will carry bulletins outlining the party’s promises in areas ranging from education and health to foreign policy and national security. A senior CHP official explained: “The main objective of this effort will be to present our program. Rather than merely responding to negative propaganda, we will focus on constructing a positive narrative of our own.”
The fact remains that the party also faces the possibility of developments in the “absolute nullity” case — which, if accepted, would effectively reinstate former leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu. A party official, stressing that they are prepared for all contingencies, said: “The government may seek to provoke internal debate within the CHP, even to divide it. We are discussing — and even planning — what steps to take under various scenarios. We have not been overwhelmed by what has been done so far. We act in anticipation of what may happen three months or even a year from now.”
