After the signatures of 362 CHP deputies were collected in late January calling for an extraordinary party congress, Kılıçdaroğlu announced that he, too, would hold a congress with his own agenda on Feb. 26 and that the other party congress would be held in March as per the demands of the intra-party opponents for them to discuss their agenda. As the party is once again experiencing tumultuous days, many have been discussing the polarization within the party, which seems as though it will never end.
Although both party congresses will convene to discuss the party’s bylaws, Zaman’s Mustafa Ünal says the aim of the party congress called for by intra-party opponents is to weaken Kılıçdaroğlu and make way for his removal in another party congress to be held in the fall. Ünal thinks it will be difficult to make this strategy work because the intra-party opponents have failed to make their voices widely heard. “Under normal circumstances, it would be very difficult for intra-party opponents to remove Kılıçdaroğlu as the party’s head.
The CHP failed to meet expectations in the 2010 referendum on constitutional reforms and in last year’s general elections. There has been some flexibility in the party’s main policies with the party’s adoption of the ‘new CHP’ discourse; its emphasis on ideology has been replaced by projects, but this change did not correspond to the greater public’s support for the party. Despite election defeat, the CHP’s support base is still hopeful about Kılıçdaroğlu,” says Ünal, explaining why it is difficult for the CHP intra-party opponents to unseat Kılıçdaroğlu. Ahead of the two separate party congresses, he believes the power of the two sides in the CHP and what they will do after the party congresses are being discussed more than the radical changes that will be made to the party’s bylaws.
Sabah’s Sevilay Yükselir says the CHP may not even hold the party congress on Feb. 26 due to a division between the party delegates, which makes it impossible for the sufficient number of delegates to gather for the congress. She explains that for a CHP party congress to be held, at least 625, over half of the party’s 1,248 delegates, must be in attendance. According to her sources, 550 delegates of the party, some of whom support former CHP leader Deniz Baykal and others who support former Secretary-General Önder Sav, have decided not to attend the party congress slated for Sunday and that some of the other 698 deputies are reported to have come up with excuses not to attend, making the congress fall short of the necessary 625 attendees.
Although no one has discussed this possibility, Yükselir says it is very likely that the CHP will not be able to hold its party congress on Sunday.
