Change should be through principles, not persons: CHP

ANKARA

Amid an internal debate over how the party should restructure itself following the election defeat, the provincial leaders of the Republican People’s Party (CHP) have underlined that change should come through new opinions and principles and not through persons.

Leaders of 81 provincial organizations of the CHP held a meeting with Chairman Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu at the party headquarters in Ankara on June 22. A statement after the more than an eight hours long meeting echoed the calls for change at the main opposition party.

“Change is an attractive and magic world. But it is the ideas and principles that will bring about a lasting change not persons,” read the statement. It came after a senior CHP official Özgür Özel and Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu have appeared as potential candidates for the party's chairman post in case Kılıçdaroğlu decides to leave his position.

The provincial leaders stressed that any change that does not address structural and operational shortcomings will not yield a healthy result.

“Nobody in our party, including our chairman, is exempt from criticism. All constructive criticisms that highlight our shortcomings are welcome. We have voiced our opinions and criticisms in an open way at the meeting,” it suggested.

The statement did not openly lend a support to Kılıçdaroğlu but recalled that it was the chairman who did the most work during the election campaign. It stressed that they will not accept attempts at defaming Kılıçdaroğlu.

İmamoğlu has loudly called for change at the CHP following the defeat. Kılıçdaroğlu lost the presidential elections against President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan while the CHP and its alliance, the Nation Alliance, could not get the majority at the Parliament either.

İmamoğlu presses for change

Meanwhile, İmamoğlu raised his voice for change in the opposition during a press conference he held on June 22.

“We have lost both presidential and parliamentary polls at a time when the government was in the weakest state in its 21-year rule,” İmamooğlu said. “Desperation and hopelessness are dragging Türkiye towards an authoritarianism without the presence of the opposition,” he said. “The people are expecting a genuine change from us. If we can’t make this change, we can neither meet the people’s expectations nor protect our current positions,” İmamoğlu stated.

If the opposition cannot change itself, losing the upcoming local elections is a growing risk, the mayor said.