Turkey’s Main Opposition Party in Disarray After Election Results

As expectations for a runoff in the presidential election and securing majority in Parliament proved to be misplaced, Turkey’s main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) plunged into disarray, with calls for the resignation of CHP chairman growing louder and stronger.

CHP leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu faces a resurgent rebellion against his leadership after yet another defeat at the ballot box. CHP presidential candidate Muharrem Ince’s stellar performance in campaign trail and his acquisition of 8 points above his party triggered a reckoning and soul-searching to find out what went wrong for the main opposition.

CHP former lawmaker Eren Erdem was one of the first figures to address the discrepancy regarding Ince’s personal success at the partial level, and the CHP’s underperforming in parliamentary elections.

“The most virtuous behavior for someone who has been Chairman for 2920 days and has lost 9 elections would be is to “resign” in the face of a political mobility that surpassed the 25 percent level, to which CHP had locked in, to reach beyond 30 percent votes with only 50 days of work. This would take place in history as a respectful and prudent behavior,” he wrote.

The target of his call was current CHP leader Kilicdaroglu.

The CHP chairman did not make any comment about the debates in media.

When Kilicdaroglu asked about whether he congratulated Erdogan, he said no.

“A man who does not believe in democracy cannot be congratulated. What side I would congratulate. Why should I congratulate a dictator?” he said on Tuesday.