Recep Tayyip Erdogan won a third term in the second round of elections held on Sunday, with 52.16 votes, against 47.84 for Kılıçdaroğlu, a difference of only 4%.
Protests and demands for resignation
Hundreds of protesters marched to party headquarters, demanding the resignation of Kilicdaroglu, who has led it since 2010, and an injection of new blood.
Party leaders have accused him of “failure” after losing presidential and legislative elections, including Muhammad Akef, the party’s deputy chairman in Istanbul.
Akef wrote on his Twitter account, “The result was a complete failure”, and although Mr. Kemal Kilicdaroglu made great efforts for the presidential elections, he did not succeed. Our party also failed in the legislative elections.
Translating the meaning of “failure”, he explained: “The number of our representatives has decreased significantly compared to 2018, and the vote rate for our party has fallen below the level of the 2011 elections”, and “Nobody shouldn’t try to talk”. as for the existence of a success story from these results, there is a complete failure of our president.” And of our party.”
He attributed the ‘failure’ to the election campaign, calling for a ‘serious’ assessment of the results, otherwise ‘the future will be worse than it is today’, especially as local elections draw near. , and he warned that “let’s say postponing discussions on these issues is the greatest evil that has befallen the party.”
Do not despair
But Republican People’s Party leader Gursel Erol disagrees with Akif, saying: “When you look at the result, there is no need to despair about the future.”
“Kılıçdaroğlu gave his best, working hard with good intentions and delivering amazing performances,” Erol adds.
Regarding some of Kilicdaroglu’s demands for resignation, Erol stresses, “We will never open the general presidency of our president for discussion. We will stand with our president. We will support our president.”
What will Kilicdaroglu choose?
Turkish political analyst Yavuz Agar told ‘Sky News Arabia’ that “it is assumed that Kilicdaroglu should resign from his post”.
However, at the same time, he recalls that: “Losing the presidency does not simply mean his failure to lead the party, especially in light of the conditions of unequal competition due to Erdogan’s control over all state agencies and influential media.
Agar is likely to resist Kilicdaroglu’s demands for his removal and the internal conflict within the party, setting an example that, as he did in the first round, he could blame the existence of penetration in the Republican People’s Party from the ” organization “Ergenekon”, which he accuses of “collusion” with Erdogan against him.
He explains: “Then they were the ones who steered him down the wrong path in the second round, advising him to use nationalist rhetoric comparable to that of the ultra-nationalists, which angered liberals and conservatives alike. opposed to Erdogan. ”
Kilicdaroglu could concentrate on the “liquidation” of the executives of this organization, and remain at the head of his party to manage the internal conflict, according to the Turkish analyst, who adds that this conflict “can lead to temporary defections, but it will lead to beneficial results for the health of the party and Turkey in the long run.”
What is Ergenekon? An organization accused 10 years ago by Erdogan of being affiliated with the “deep state” and carrying out a plan to overthrow his regime. It includes officers including former army commander Ilker Basbug, lawyers, academics, journalists and supporters, and some of them have been sentenced to prison. Then legal and judicial changes took place and some of them were released from prison, coinciding with a campaign launched by Erdogan against the “Service” movement led by Fethullah Gulen. Which prompted his opponents to say that he had made a deal with the organization to overthrow his opponent.
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