CHP leading the polls, Özel tells EU leaders

BRUSSELS

Main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) leader Özgür Özel has criticized European leaders for not putting enough pressure on President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.

“It would be wrong to say that Erdoğan feels even 10 percent of the pressure he should feel from the European Union,” Özel said on June 26 during a meeting with European socialist party leaders in Brussels.

The gathering ahead of a European Council summit focused on issues including Gaza,Ukraine, trade and a range of other issues.

Özel claimed that recent polls showed Erdoğan’s support had dropped to 30 percent. He argued that relations between Türkiye and the EU should not be reduced to security cooperation.

“Türkiye is not just about Erdoğan’s government. Our party is Türkiye’s leading party. The change of government is now just a matter of time,” he said.

“Türkiye is a respected and equal partner of Europe. Relations between Türkiye and Europe should be built on this reality.”

Özel was referring to the CHP’s significant gains in the 2024 local elections, marking the first time since 1977 that the party received the highest number of votes. It secured around 37 percent of the votes, for the first time surpassing the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), which garnered around 35 percent.

The CHP’s success extended across 35 out of the country’s 81 provinces, including 14 metropolises. Notably, the main opposition party made considerable gains in constituencies traditionally run by the AKP, such as Bursa, Balıkesir, Manisa, Denizli, Uşak, Kütahya, Kırıkkale and Afyonkarahisar.

Özel made his first international trip after the elections to attend the leaders summit of the Party of European Socialists (PES) in the Romanian capital Bucharest. He engaged in discussions with various figures from center-left European parties.

During a rally in Istanbul’s Büyükçekmece district late on June 25, Özel claimed that CHP support had surpassed 40 percent in recent polls. “I call out to Erdoğan, come out to us on Nov. 2 and bring the ballot box,” he said. It was the first time Özel publicly proposed a specific date for early elections.