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REVISING THE PRESIDENCY: AKP’S NEW CONSTITUTION GAMBLE
Capital Currents Dec 18, 2025

REVISING THE PRESIDENCY: AKP’S NEW CONSTITUTION GAMBLE

The new civil constitution that the AKP has been calling for since the 2023 elections is set to become one of the key issues in the new year. Revising the presidential system, addressing the needs of a new peace process, and — inevitably — paving the way for President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s renewed candidacy are the main pillars of this process. But any such changes would first require consensus within the party, and then support from the opposition.

Nergis Demirkaya
CHP’S UNCONTESTED CONGRESS SETS SIGHTS ON POWER IN 2028
Capital Currents Nov 28, 2025

CHP’S UNCONTESTED CONGRESS SETS SIGHTS ON POWER IN 2028

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.

Nergis Demirkaya
DISSENTING VOICES IN THE AKP
Inside Turkey Sep 26, 2025

DISSENTING VOICES IN THE AKP

After the CHP pushed back against a wave of lawsuits aimed at annulling its 2023 congress, some AKP-affiliated pundits—occasionally critical of their own party’s leadership—called for an end to the judicial crackdown.

Editorial Team
TURKEY’S MAIN OPPOSITION CHP, ERDOĞAN’S CHIEF CHALLENGER, SEEKS LEGAL SHIELD THROUGH CONGRESS
Inside Turkey Sep 20, 2025

TURKEY’S MAIN OPPOSITION CHP, ERDOĞAN’S CHIEF CHALLENGER, SEEKS LEGAL SHIELD THROUGH CONGRESS

Turkey’s main opposition party, the CHP, is convening an extraordinary congress today in a bid to resolve ongoing legal challenges stemming from vote-buying allegations tied to its 2023 ordinary congress. CHP Chair Özgür Özel, who took the party’s helm during that same 2023 congress, is expected to reaffirm his leadership for the third time. No challenger is anticipated.

Editorial Team
CHP FACES NEW SETBACK AS COURT HALTS ISTANBUL CONGRESS PROCESS
Deep Dive Sep 5, 2025

CHP FACES NEW SETBACK AS COURT HALTS ISTANBUL CONGRESS PROCESS

Turkey’s main opposition CHP suffered a fresh blow as a court dissolved its largest provincial board in Istanbul over cash payment claims. The party now awaits either a Sept. 5 ruling by the Supreme Election Board (YSK) or a Sept.15 court hearing that could unseat Chair Özgür Özel’s administration. The CHP, which came to power at a November 2023 congress with the slogan “Change,” now risks being replaced by the team of former chair Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu. The 45th Civil Court of First Instance ruled that irregularities in the October 2023 Istanbul provincial congress were “approximately proven.” The court suspended provincial chair Özgür Çelik, the executive and disciplinary boards, and 196 delegates. Attention has now turned to another court set to review the CHP’s 2023 congress in Ankara. “The Istanbul decision is null and void. We do not recognize it,” said Özel, vowing not to hand over CHP’s Istanbul building to the appointed administration. The Istanbul administration also started a stage-in protest in front of the building for 24 hours.

Editorial Team
MOON MISSION POSTPONED TO 2027
Security and Defense Sep 5, 2025

MOON MISSION POSTPONED TO 2027

Turkey has postponed its moon landing project, which it had aimed to carry out in 2023 to mark the 100th anniversary of the Republic but later delayed to 2026, this time to 2027. The government established the Turkish Space Agency in 2018 to coordinate space activities.

Editorial Team
INEQUALITY WIDENS ACROSS TURKEY
Economy and Finance Aug 21, 2025

INEQUALITY WIDENS ACROSS TURKEY

The Turkish Statistical Institute (TurkStat) has released for the first time socio-economic status data at the provincial and district levels, based on 2023. Covering more than 26 million households, the study highlights sharp inequalities across Turkey, measuring income, education, and occupation.

Editorial Team
PARLIAMENT IN FLUX AS PARTY SHIFTS ACCELERATE
Inside Turkey Jul 25, 2025

PARLIAMENT IN FLUX AS PARTY SHIFTS ACCELERATE

The arithmetic in the Turkish Parliament is shifting rapidly, as party defections mount. Since the May 2023 elections, 35 lawmakers have resigned from their parties, significantly altering the composition of parliament. The İYİ Party has shrunk from 43 to 29 MPs; DEVA has dropped from 15 to 9; and Gelecek from 10 to 4. Of the defectors, 11 joined the AKP and 10 moved to the CHP. Fourteen now sit as independents.

Editorial Team
AFTER ISTANBUL, IT IS IZMIR'S TURN
Deep Dive Jul 4, 2025

AFTER ISTANBUL, IT IS IZMIR'S TURN

A new front has been opened in the judicial assault on the main opposition CHP, shifting the focus from Istanbul to the party’s stronghold in Izmir. The latest set of raids came as Izmir fought off forest fires and as the CHP prepared to hold a major rally in Saraçhane—home to Istanbul's Municipality—marking the 100th day of Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu’s pre-trial detention. They also followed hard on the heels of a court hearing that could have annulled the party’s 2023 congress.

Editorial Team