By Nergis Demirkaya
In 2020, the CHP held a “Power Congress” under Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu’s leadership; five years later, the party is heading into another congress — this time under the leadership of Özgür Özel and with the slogan “Now Is the Time for Power.”
After that congress, held with the claim that the party was on its way to power, Kılıçdaroğlu, now 76, not only lost the 2023 elections but also the CHP chairmanship. Now Özel, in only his third year as a chair at 51, is convening a congress with his own claim to power.
This will be the congress at which Özel renews his mandate and reshapes and strengthens his team. He and the new leadership will steer the party into the 2028 general elections—or earlier, if snap polls are called.
TOUGH JOB
Özel, who became party chair after unseating Kılıçdaroğlu—CHP’s leader for 13 years—has endured what may be the most challenging two years in the party’s 102-year history. He has faced lawsuits seeking to annul the congress, while also confronting sweeping operations that led to the arrests of numerous mayors, including presidential candidate Ekrem İmamoğlu. This struggle has left Özel unchallenged going into the weekend congress. With polls showing overwhelming public support, no rival candidate is expected to emerge against him.
A prominent figure in the CHP administration describes the moment as follows: “This will be a congress where Özgür Özel’s hand is extremely strong. We have a chair who has held 72 rallies in just nine months. He enjoys immense support both among the public and within the party. Reaching this point in just two years is a major success.”
With Özel unopposed, attention will turn to the team he seeks to build. This will be a congress that puts forward the CHP’s claim to power, a senior party official said: “You will see the spark of change we ignited two years ago take real shape. Through our organizational structure, our team, and our message, we will present a full governing vision.”
CHANGES EXPECTED ON ÖZEL’S TEAM
The congress is expected to bring changes to the CHP’s administrative structure. A new Party Assembly—either 60 or 80 members—will be elected. From among these members, the Central Executive Board (MYK), known as the A-team, will be chosen.
In the previous congress, a 24-member MYK was formed that included “shadow ministers” assigned to track each government ministry. This time, the “Shadow Cabinet” will be placed under the Office of the Presidential Candidate, which will be added to the party bylaws as a formal body. With this shift, the MYK will be reduced to 13–14 members—leaner, faster, and more decisive.
A close aide to Özel said that the new leadership team will be shaped with the challenges of the approaching election period in mind. The politician describes the forthcoming team as “resilient to attacks, willing to fight, and capable of protecting the party.”
APPEALING TO DIFFERENT SEGMENTS
The new administration is expected to include figures who can appeal to diverse segments of society and balance both the party’s internal dynamics and the country’s regional sensibilities. Regarding the congress’s tone and the team that will emerge, an insider says: “Rather than right–left rhetoric, this will be a congress that embraces the center—one that sets a message and a leadership structure capable of reaching broad social groups.”
İMAMOĞLU EFFECT
The party leadership formed at the congress at which Özel was first elected bore significant influence from İmamoğlu. While Özel is expected to take İmamoğlu’s suggestions into account once again, he is expected to draw up the new list himself.
Even when there is no contest for the party chairmanship, dissident groups within the CHP sometimes put forward alternative lists for the administrative bodies. But in this congress, neither an opposition list nor independent candidacies are expected to challenge the announced slate — despite Kılıçdaroğlu’s video criticizing the CHP for not supporting an İmralı visit, which has received 22 million views.
PATH TO POWER?
Özel’s address to the congress will also carry significant weight. As the party’s program is renewed for the first time in 17 years, Özel is expected to present a new CHP policy framework—from economy to foreign policy, and health to education—in a comprehensive manner that reflects a governing vision.
Over the past two years, many politicians known for as conservative or center-right—including 12 members of parliament—have joined the CHP from the İYİ Party, DEVA, and the Gelecek Party. In line with the inclusive spirit of the new era, figures such as Ümit Özlale and Bahadır Erdem (from İYİ), Serkan Özcan (from the Gelecek Party), and Evrim Rızvanoğlu (from DEVA) are expected to be included in the new leadership.
This congress—where Özel will enter far stronger than he did two years ago—will allow him to hand pick the team he will fight alongside in the coming elections. But his real test will be the result he delivers with the mandate he gains here. As Özel has repeatedly said, if he cannot bring the party to power in the next elections, he will resign from both the leadership and politics that very night. In that case, this congress may well be his last.
