SOCIALIST INTERNATIONAL SUSPENDS CHP, ADMITS YENI PARTY
The global umbrella of social democratic parties, Socialist International, suspended the CHP under its court-appointed leadership and admitted Özgür Özel's Yeni Party as a full member.
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INDEPENDENT CANDIDATES ROUT TOP APPEAL COURT’S CHIEF LIST
Turkey’s top appeal court, the Court of Cassation, has elected a new Presidential Council, and the results deal a sharp blow to the court's top leadership.
YENİ PARTY’S NEW PATH: MOVING BEYOND THE CHP
Following the “absolute nullity” ruling ousting Özgür Özel from the CHP leadership, the expected finally happened: 91 lawmakers led by Özel left the CHP to establish the Yeni Party.
FIRST OUSTED, NOW OUT: ÖZEL FOUNDS RIVAL TO CHP
Özgür Özel, who in a historic decision was removed by court order from the party leadership to which he had been elected four times, announced his decision to establish a new party.
ROCK STAR ARRESTED IN MASSIVE CHARITY FRAUD PROBE
Turkey is shaken by the misdoings of an Anatolian rock singer Haluk Levent, who once topped the list of Turkey's 'most trusted celebrities' due to his leadership of the respected charity organization Ahbap.
ÖZEL AT A CROSSROADS: THE CHALLENGES AHEAD FOR A NEW PARTY
No sooner had Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu settled into the party leadership — declaring 'first purification, then a congress' in the immediate wake of the absolute nullity ruling — than he did exactly what everyone expected: signed off on expulsions.
ÖZEL HAS THE CROWD, KILIÇDAROĞLU HOLDS THE SEAL, THE EXIT IS ANYONE'S GUESS FOR THE CHP
Turkey's oldest and main opposition party, the CHP, is now effectively divided in two after a court annulled the party's November 2023 congress and reinstated former chair Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu in place of Özgür Özel. The split became more visible when both camps held rallies simultaneously at 2 p.m. on May 30. Kılıçdaroğlu returned to party headquarters to chants of 'Kılıçdaroğlu, the people's hope' — a stark reversal from just days earlier, when another crowd had branded him a 'traitor' and 'the AKP's hope' on May 24, reacting to the court-ordered change in the party leadership carried out with police support. The first head-to-head show of strength between the two camps laid bare a simple reality: Özel commands greater grassroots support, but Kılıçdaroğlu holds the formal authority to run the party.
ELECTION FOR FENERBAHÇE’S PRESIDENCY IS LOOMING
An upcoming presidential election for the Istanbul soccer club Fenerbahçe on June 6-7, has again highlighted the ties between football and politics. The leadership of Fenerbahçe is widely seen as a position of significant influence, not just a sporting role.
FATİH ERBAKAN’S PREPARATIONS FOR POST-ERDOĞAN ERA
Political leadership here does not pass from father to son — at least not for the past century. Many have entered politics carrying their father’s surname; all of them sons. No daughter has ever tried. And almost none of these sons succeeded. Let’s count them.
COURT RULING OUSTS ÖZEL, HANDS CHP BACK TO KILIÇDAROĞLU
A fresh blow has landed on the CHP as a court annulled the party's 2023 congress — the elective gathering at which the party leadership, including its chair, changed hands following an election defeat — ordering the party's administration to revert to its pre-congress configuration.
ANKARA SILENT AS OPPOSITION DECLARES U.S. AMBASSADOR ‘PERSONA NON GRATA’
The US Ambassador to Turkey and Special Envoy for Syria Tom Barrack is under attack in Turkey and the United States for saying Middle East countries require “strong leadership.”
TENSION PERSISTS WITHIN MHP FOLLOWING DEPUTY CHAIR’S EXIT
The MHP, a key partner of the ruling alliance under the leadership of the AKP, has seen a new wave of internal restructuring as the party leadership dissolved multiple regional organizations following the high-profile departure of Deputy Chair İzzet Ulvi Yönter.