Socialist International Ethics Committee Unanimously Backs Özel as Legitimate CHP Leader

The Socialist International's Ethics Committee met and voted unanimously on May 27, 2026 to endorse Özgür Özel as the legitimate leader of the CHP, rejecting the court-installed Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu. The SI described the Ankara appeals court nullification as 'a clear and unlawful act' and 'a blow to Türkiye's democratic system.' It called on Kılıçdaroğlu to organize an immediate, transparent extraordinary congress to restore democratic legitimacy within the party. The SI's backing gave Özel's faction critical international legitimacy, distinguishing his camp as the internationally recognized opposition from what critics called a court-appointed parallel leadership. The Socialist International — a global grouping of social-democratic and center-left parties — counts among its members the UK Labour Party, German SPD, French Socialist Party, and many other major European governing parties, making its judgment of political legitimacy diplomatically significant.