Erdoğan denies government role in CHP internal dispute after court annuls congress results

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on Monday denied any government role in the internal dispute within the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP), after a court ruling last month annulled the CHP's 2023 congress results and reinstated former Chairman Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu as chair.

Speaking after a Cabinet meeting in Ankara, Erdoğan said the ruling alliance — comprising his Justice and Development Party (AK Party) and the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) — remains focused on serving the nation. "None of the discussions within the main opposition party concern us," Erdoğan said. "We are not, have never been and will never be a party to the political and legal struggle that has moved from convention halls to courtrooms."

The CHP has been riven by internal divisions since Kılıçdaroğlu lost the 2023 presidential election to Erdoğan. Özgür Özel unseated Kılıçdaroğlu at the party's 2023 congress, but the vote later faced legal challenges over alleged irregularities. Last month's court ruling annulled those congress results and reinstated Kılıçdaroğlu as chair, deepening tensions. Rival gatherings held by supporters of Kılıçdaroğlu and Özel during the Eid al-Adha holiday underscored the growing rift as the party faces uncertainty ahead of the next general election, scheduled for 2028.

Erdoğan called on political actors to contribute to the government's "Terror-Free Türkiye" initiative. "Türkiye does not need renewed political squabbles. It needs common ground, reconciliation and unity on matters that concern the entire nation, especially our Terror-Free Türkiye process," he said.

Warning against attempts to create tension for political gain, Erdoğan said: "Regardless of the pretext, we will not allow our streets to be destabilized, our nation to be polarized or our people to be set against our security forces."