Is the Republican People’s Party (CHP) Rising from the Ashes?
The victory of the CHP [Cumhuriyet Halk Partisi, Republican People’s Party] in the Turkish municipal elections of March 2024 firmly established it as the leading party of opposition to the Islamic-conservative AKP [Adalet ve Kalkınma Partisi, Justice and Development Party], which has been in power since 2002.
The CHP, which came into existence in 1923 in parallel with the Republic, was initially the only party and the standard bearer for Mustafa Kemal’s modernizing, secular nationalism. Its program became more socially democratic with the transition to a multi-party system and then more liberal in the face of Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s growing authoritarianism. This long history explains the party’s complex identity and the diverse factions within it.
From the 2010s onwards, its strategy of building alliances and winning back voters has established it as the undisputed leader of the opposition. The increasing secularization of Turkey’s youth, the CHP’s success in major cities, and its ability to reach out to civil society and forge international partnerships are all assets the party could capitalize on in the forthcoming elections.
But it has a number of challenges to overcome: achieving consistency in its program and its alliances, finding a less vertical structure, and uniting around a winning candidate.
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Is the Republican People’s Party (CHP) Rising from the Ashes?
Author(s)
Aurélien DENIZEAU
Associate Research Fellow, Turkey/Middle East Program, Ifri
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