TÜRKİYE ORTA ASYA HABER KKUORDİNATÖRÜ

WORLD DEMOCRACY PLATFORM - WORLD DEMOCRACY FOUNDATION: DEUTCLAND, Berlin Competing with Erdoğan, collaborating with the state: Why has Kılıçdaroğlu failed as the leader of the main opposition in Türkiye? Turkish democracy on trial: How Erdoğan’s rule has undermined justice and weakened his rivals? He did this by Using the former leader of the CHP Across Turkey, unrest erupted after an appeals court annulled the results of the Republican People’s Party (CHP) 2023 leadership election, removing popular winner Özgür Özel from office. The court’s decision to remove Özel, based on the ruling that the CHP’s 38th congress was invalid from the start, overturned a previous court ruling that dismissed allegations of election irregularities, leaving the CHP with 77-year-old party veteran Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu as interim leader. Kılıçdaroğlu had previously led the party to five election defeats; One of these was the 2023 presidential election, in which he was defeated by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan by approximately five points. This latest political crisis shaking Türkiye fits into a pattern of democratic regression and systemic weakening of the opposition under Erdoğan’s Justice and Development Party (AKP) rule. Over the years, AKP governments have weakened the justice system, restricted press freedom, and limited human rights in Türkiye. The next presidential and parliamentary elections are not scheduled until 2028, and Erdoğan, who will be 74 years old then, will be ineligible to run at that stage due to constitutional term limits. After serving three terms as Türkiye’s prime minister between 2003 and 2014, he became the country’s first popularly elected president in 2014. He was subsequently re-elected in 2018 and 2023 – the maximum number of terms allowed by the Turkish Constitution. While in office, Erdoğan has significantly strengthened the power of the presidency. Following the 2017 constitutional referendum, the Turkish political system transformed from a parliamentary democracy to a presidential executive. This gave the president executive powers, including the authority to initiate or amend laws, ratify treaties, appoint and dismiss vice presidents, ministers, and senior public officials, and decide on the use of the Turkish Armed Forces. Help us amplify the voices of experts. Donate today The US-based pro-democracy group Freedom House criticized the move, saying that Erdoğan and his AKP were now able to "establish partisan control over the Supreme Election Board (YSK), the judiciary, national policy, and the media." Erdoğan's position, which has dominated Turkish politics for two decades, was challenged in the 2023 presidential election. Despite widespread expectations that Kılıçdaroğlu would win, the first round was so close that the election went to a runoff, which Erdoğan won with 52.2%. The following year, the CHP won a landslide victory in Türkiye's local elections, taking control of major cities (Ankara, Istanbul, Izmir, and Bursa). While Erdoğan wielded extensive national powers, directly elected mayors still held significant influence at the local level. Despite Erdoğan's energetic campaign for the AKP candidate in the Istanbul mayoral race (he himself had served as mayor of the city from 1994-1998), CHP's Ekrem İmamoğlu defeated his AKP rival. The 2024 local elections were the CHP's biggest success in 21 years. The opposition appeared united, energetic, and electable. Following the elections, party leader Özel praised the voters' decision to change Turkish politics, saying, "They [the voters] want to open the door to a new political climate in our country." However, his initial optimism was quickly tested by events. Pressure on the Opposition Following these elections, Erdoğan launched a crackdown on his rivals – down to district mayors and local officials – through prosecutions and imprisonment. The aim appears to be to neutralize emerging rivals who are showing signs of building a popular following before they can become a threat to the president. Imamoğlu, a popular figure... Istanbul Metropolitan Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu was arrested in March 2025, the same day he was nominated as the CHP's presidential candidate for 2028. Currently imprisoned on corruption charges, prosecutors are seeking up to 2,352 years in prison for İmamoğlu. A supporter of the detained Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu is carrying a banner with İmamoğlu's picture and the text "There is no salvation alone, either all together or nobody": "There is no salvation alone": A supporter of the detained Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu is organizing a protest demonstration in front of the Marmara Prison Complex in Istanbul in January 2026. EP