Analysis
Smart, independent reporting on Turkey's politics, economy and foreign affairs.
A new case has been opened against former HDP co-chair Selahattin Demirtaş on charges of insulting the president, days after the European Court of Human Rights upheld its ruling that he should be released.
Months of competition between Turkey and Australia has come to an end, as Turkey became next year’s host of the UN Climate Change Conference (COP31). Australia will chair the summit, while discussions will focus on the Pacific, according to the compromise reached on Nov. 19, hours before the end of this year's summit in Brazil.
Islamist YRP Chair Fatih Erbakan has promised to repeal Law 6284, the main legal safeguard protecting women from violence and the only remaining protection after Turkey withdrew from the landmark Istanbul Convention in 2021.
Jailed former HDP co-chair Selahattin Demirtaş rejected remarks by former Parliament Speaker Bülent Arınç suggesting Demirtaş wished to meet President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and tell him he held no resentment. After a visit to Edirne Prison, Arınç said Demirtaş wanted to tell Erdoğan, “I hold no grudge against you.” Demirtaş responded with a handwritten note, saying he never expressed such a thought. “What troubles me most is being associated with words and ideas I never hinted at,” he wrote.
İYİ Party Chair Müsavat Dervişoğlu and Zafer Party Chair Ümit Özdağ directed sharp criticism at the MHP as political tension rose over whether a parliamentary commission should visit İmralı Island.
Rallying frequently since the arrest of CHP’s presidential candidate and Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu in March, CHP Chair Özgür Özel has continued directing sharp criticism at President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in each major political debate.
As expectations grow for the release of former HDP Co-chair Selahattin Demirtaş, former HDP MPs Semra Güzel and Hüda Kaya have been released, taking into account the length of their detention.
Turkey marked the 102nd anniversary of the Republic with fresh signs of political realignment — reminiscent of the symbolic gestures seen during Parliament’s opening earlier this month. While the chairs of Gelecek Party and DEVA Party, both breakaway movements from the AKP, attended the Presidential Palace reception for the first time, the MHP opted to stay away. Talks on a possible merger among conservative parties are also ongoing.
With the “change” endorsement from Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu, Özgür Özel became CHP chair and will mark his second year in office in just ten days. Many see this as the “most difficult two years” in the party’s 102-year history, as policies were revised and key positions changed. While also battling lawsuits to annul its congress and ongoing operations against municipalities, the CHP seems poised to fight on new fronts—starting with the possible lifting of parliamentary immunities—as the election calendar nears.
As the Turkish Parliament begins its new legislative year on Oct. 1, attention will center on MHP Chair Devlet Bahçeli—who launched the “Terror-Free Turkey” peace initiative a year ago—and on President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s remarks regarding its future. Following a 70-day recess, Parliament will convene with a special General Assembly session at 2:00 p.m. As usual, Erdoğan will deliver an opening address, though the CHP will boycott the ceremony in protest of recent mayoral arrests and crackdowns on municipalities. This year, the political spotlight will remain on post-PKK arrangements such as the “Return Home” law, the “right to hope,” and amendments to the penal code.
“In every heart hides a lion.” This is a common folk saying. And in every CHP member’s heart and mind lies the thought: “One day I could be chair of the party.” A sort of “Why not?” sentiment. Let’s put aside the phrase “every CHP member” as it might be an exaggeration—but still, 90% of them live with this mindset, something unseen in any other party. No matter their place inside the party—ordinary member or deputy chair—it makes no difference. What fuels this thought is not what has happened so far, but the fact that names keep surfacing for the chairmanship. The reasoning is: “If he can do it, why can’t I?”
As politics remains focused on CHP, the resignation of eight provincial chairs from the ruling AKP has prompted the question: What is happening on the government side? The resignations of the provincial chairs of Çanakkale, Niğde, Adıyaman, Elazığ, Muğla, Ordu, Bitlis, and Tunceli—submitted within just 48 hours—were followed by statements from the party headquarters stressing that this was merely a “change of duties to take the party forward” and that “no criminal situation is involved.”