Kemal KñlñçdaroÃÂlu (; born 17 December 1948), also referred to by his initials KK, is a Turkish politician who served as the leader of the Republican People's Party (CHP) from 2010 to 2023. He was Leader of the Main Opposition in Turkey between 2010 and 2023. He served as a member of parliament for Istanbul's second electoral district from 2002 to 2015, and as an MP for ðzmir's second electoral district from 2015 to 2023.
Before entering politics, KñlñçdaroÃÂlu was a civil servant and served as the director-general of the Social Security Institution from 1992 to 1996 and again from 1997 to 1999. He was elected to Parliament in the 2002 general election and became the CHP's parliamentary group leader. In the 2009 local elections, he was nominated as the CHP candidate to run for Mayor of ðstanbul, but lost to the AKP candidate.
After Deniz Baykal resigned as the party's leader in 2010, KñlñçdaroÃÂlu announced his candidacy and was unanimously elected as the leader of the CHP. He was elected deputy chairman of the Socialist International in August 2012. He was seen as likely to modernize the CHP. Although the CHP saw a subsequent increase in its vote share, it was unable to unseat the ruling AKP. KñlñçdaroÃÂlu was criticized for not resigning as CHP chairman after losing four general elections.
As leader of the main opposition, KñlñçdaroÃÂlu attempted to construct big-tent coalitions with other parties, which culminated in the formation of the Nation Alliance and CHP's subsequent victories in the 2019 local elections. He was the CHP's and the Nation Alliance's joint candidate for the 2023 Turkish presidential election, but lost to incumbent President Recep Tayyip ErdoÃÂan. After his loss, he was voted out as leader of the CHP on 5 November 2023 and was replaced by ÃÂzgür ÃÂzel.
Kemal Karabulut was born on 17 December 1948 in the Ballñca village of Nazñmiye district in Tunceli Province, eastern Turkey, to Kamer, a clerk-recorder of deeds and his wife Yemuà Â. Kemal KñlñçdaroÃÂlu was the fourth oldest of their seven children.
Kemal's father changed the family's surname from Karabulut to KñlñçdaroÃÂlu in the 1960s because everyone in their village had the same last name (Karabulut). His father was among thousands of exiled Alevis following the failed Dersim rebellion.
Kemal continued his primary and secondary education in various places such as Ercià Â, Tunceli, Genç, and ElazñÃÂ. He studied economics at the Ankara Academy of Economics and Commercial Sciences, now Gazi University, from which he graduated in 1971. During his youth, he earned his living by selling goods.
After university, KñlñçdaroÃÂlu entered the Ministry of Finance as a junior account specialist in 1971. He was later promoted to accountant and was sent to France for additional professional training. In 1983, he was appointed deputy director general of the Revenues Department in the same ministry. At that time he worked closely with Prime Minister Turgut ÃÂzal. In 1991, KñlñçdaroÃÂlu became director-general of the Social Security Organization for Artisans and Self-Employed (BaÃÂ-Kur). In 1992 he was appointed director-general of the Social Insurance Institution (Turkish: , abbreviated SSK).
In 1994, KñlñçdaroÃÂlu was named "Civil Servant of the Year" by the weekly periodical Ekonomik Trend.
KñlñçdaroÃÂlu retired from the Social Insurance Institution in January 1999. He taught at Hacettepe University and chaired the Specialized Commission on the Informal Economy within the framework of the preparation of the Eighth Five-Year Development Plan. He also acted as a member of the Executive Board of ðà Âbank.
KñlñçdaroÃÂlu retired from civil service in 1999 and tried to enter politics from within Bülent Ecevit's Democratic Left Party (DSP). He was often referred to as the "star of the DSP". It was claimed that he would be a DSP candidate in the upcoming 1999 general election, in which the DSP came first. However, he did not succeed in this venture as he could not get on the party's candidates' list. Instead, during his chairmanship of an association that aimed to protect citizen tax payments, he was invited by the leader of the CHP Deniz Baykal to join his party and accepted the invitation.
Following the 2002 general election, he entered the parliament as a deputy from Istanbul. In the 2007 general election, he was re-elected to parliament. He became deputy speaker of his party's parliamentary group.
KñlñçdaroÃÂlu's efforts to uncover malpractice among high-ranking Justice and Development Party (AKP) politicians carried him to headlines in the Turkish media. Two deputy chairmen of the ruling AKP, à Âaban Dià Âli and Dengir Mir Mehmet Fñrat, resigned from their respective positions in the party following television debates with KñlñçdaroÃÂlu. He publicly accused the AKP-affiliated Mayor of Ankara, Melih Gökçek, of complicity in a corruption scandal relating to the "Deniz Feneri" charity based in Germany.
KñlñçdaroÃÂlu was announced as the CHP's mayoral candidate for the 2009 local elections by the party leader Deniz Baykal in January 2009. KñlñçdaroÃÂlu announced that he would run his campaign based on clean politics, vowing to open cases of corruption against the serving incumbent, AKP mayor Kadir Topbaà Â. Claiming that he would work for the workers of ðstanbul, he challenged Topbaà  to a televised live debate. KñlñçdaroÃÂlu lost the election with 37% of the votes against Topbaà Â's 44.7%.
Long-time leader of the CHP, Deniz Baykal resigned on 10 May 2010 following a video tape scandal. KñlñçdaroÃÂlu announced his candidacy for the position on 17 May, five days before an upcoming party convention. According to reports, the party was divided over the leadership issue, with its Central Executive Board insisting that Baykal retake the position. After KñlñçdaroÃÂlu received the support of 77 of his party's 81 provincial chairpersons, Baykal decided not to run for re-election.
For a candidacy to become official, CHP by-laws require the support of 20% of convention delegates. At the party convention, in May 2010, KñlñçdaroÃÂlu's candidacy received the signatures of 1,246 out of the 1,250 delegates, which set a new record for the CHP.
In view of this overwhelming support, the presidium of the party convention decided to move the election, initially scheduled for Sunday, forward to Saturday. As expected, KñlñçdaroÃÂlu was elected unanimously as party chairman with 1,189 votes, not counting eight votes that were found to be invalid.
KñlñçdaroÃÂlu took office as the Leader of the Main Opposition on 22 May 2010 by virtue of leading the second largest political party in the Grand National Assembly. Many media commentators and speculators predicted that KñlñçdaroÃÂlu would breathe new life into the CHP, after consecutive election defeats under Baykal's leadership.
KñlñçdaroÃÂlu's first campaign as the CHP leader was the constitutional referendum held on 12 September 2010. Although the initial voting process in Parliament that would determine the proposals that were voted on in the referendum had begun under Baykal's leadership, KñlñçdaroÃÂlu employed a tactic of boycotting the parliamentary process. The governing AKP, which had submitted the proposals, held 336 seats. Since a constitutional reform proposal required 330 votes to be sent to a referendum, the parliamentary approval of all of the government's constitutional reforms was mathematically possible regardless of how the CHP voted. The AKP's proposed constitutional reforms, which included changes to the Turkish Judiciary, were sent for approval in a referendum on 12 September 2010.
KñlñçdaroÃÂlu not only campaigned for a 'no' vote against the proposals, but also sent the Parliamentary voting process to court over alleged technical irregularities. The CHP subsequently sent the proposals to court over alleged violations of the separation of powers in the proposed changes. The Constitutional Court eventually ruled against the CHP. KñlñçdaroÃÂlu, along with members of minor opposition parties, argued that the proposed changes were an attempt to politicise the judiciary and further increase the control of the AKP over neutral state institutions. The referendum proposals were accepted by 57.9% of voters, with 42.1% voting against.
The 2011 general election was the first general election in which Kemal KñlñçdaroÃÂlu participated as the leader of Republican People's Party (CHP). The former CHP leader Deniz Baykal resigned from his post in May 2010 and left the CHP with 26% of the votes, according to opinion polls. KñlñçdaroÃÂlu announced that he would resign from his post if he was not successful in the 2011 elections. He did not provide details as to what his criteria for success were.
Over 3,500 people applied to run for the main opposition party in the June elections. Male candidates paid 3,000 Turkish Liras to submit an application; female candidates paid 2,000 while those with disabilities paid 500 liras. Among the candidates were former CHP leader Deniz Baykal and arrested Ergenekon suspects such as Mustafa Balbay and Mehmet Haberal.
The party held primary elections in 29 provinces. Making a clean break with the past, Kemal KñlñçdaroÃÂlu left his mark on the Republican People's Party's 435-candidate list, leaving off 78 current deputies as he sought to redefine and reposition the main opposition. The CHP's candidate list also included 11 politicians who were formerly part of center-right parties, such as the Motherland Party, the True Path Party and the Turkey Party.
Center-right voters gravitated toward the AKP when these other parties virtually collapsed after the 2002 elections. Key party figures that did not make it on to the list, criticised the CHP for making "a shift in axis". His statement on the election results "CHP is the only party that increased the number of deputies in the election. In a short period of 6 months, CHP gained 3.5 million new voters. So we will not demoralise ourselves," he said.
The June 2015 general election was the second general election which Kemal KñlñçdaroÃÂlu participated as the leader of CHP. The party won 11.5 million votes (24.95%) and finished with 132 elected Members of Parliament, a decrease of 3 since the 2011 general election. The decrease of 1.03% compared to their 2011 result (25.98%) was attributed to CHP voters voting tactically for the Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) to ensure that they surpassed the 10% election threshold. While the result demonstrated a stagnant CHP vote, HDP's entry into parliament resulted in AKP losing its parliamentary majority.
Weeks of coalition talks between AKP and CHP and a possible KñlñçdaroÃÂlu premiership proved ultimately fruitless. KñlñçdaroÃÂlu then tried to form a government with MHP and HDP, offering MHP's chairman Devlet Bahçeli the premiership, but ideological differences between the nationalists and the Kurds were too large, and Bahçeli announced that he wanted to be the main opposition anyway. A snap election was called for November, in which AKP regained its majority. No opinion poll, apart from one dubious poll released in March 2014, showed the CHP ahead of the AKP between 2011 and 2015.
KñlñçdaroÃÂlu supported the government in the 2016 coup d'etat attempt and condemned the putchists.
A couple months later his convoy was attacked in Artvin by the PKK.
After the 2017 Turkish constitutional referendum, which significantly expanded President ErdoÃÂan's powers, KñlñçdaroÃÂlu and CHP filed a court appeal against a decision by Turkey's Supreme Electoral Council (YSK) to accept unstamped ballots. Kemal KñlñçdaroÃÂlu has said that the YSK decision may be appealed to the ECHR, but members of the AKP government have said that neither ECHR nor Turkey's Constitutional Court have any jurisdiction over the YSK decision. KñlñçdaroÃÂlu said: "In 2014 [the Constitutional Court] said 'Elections are canceled if there is no seal on ballot papers or envelopes.'[ ... ]The YSK can't express an opinion above the will of the parliament,[ ... ]If the Constitutional Court rejects our application, we will regard the changes as illegitimate. There is also the ECHR. If necessary, we will take the case there."
In 2017, ahead of the referendum, KñlñçdaroÃÂlu flashed the greywolf sign, used by nationalists. It has been suggested that this is to compete with the MHP and the AKP for right-wing voters.
In June 2017, Enis BerberoÃÂlu, a member of the Turkish parliament from the opposition Republican People's Party (CHP), was sentenced to 25 years in prison for allegedly leaking state secrets to a newspaper. CHP leader Kemal KñlñçdaroÃÂlu responded by organizing a peaceful, 420-kilometer walk from Ankara to Istanbul, called the "Justice March", to protest what he saw as a lack of justice and democracy in Turkey. The march lasted for 25 days, attracting a diverse range of participants, and ended with a large rally in Maltepe. Along the way, participants faced various challenges, such as attacks with stones and manure being thrown at them.
The march was criticized by President Recep Tayyip ErdoÃÂan, his ruling Justice and Development Party, and the Nationalist Movement Party, but supported by the pro-Kurdish Peoples' Democratic Party. After the march, two books were published about the event, and the CHP held a "Justice Congress" in ÃÂanakkale in August 2017. It was during this March KñlñçdaroÃÂlu received the nickname Gandhi Kemal.
In the 2018 elections, KñlñçdaroÃÂlu as leader of the CHP and ðyi Parti leader Meral Akà Âener established Nation Alliance (Millet ðtifakñ) as an electoral alliance in response to the AKP and MHP's People's Alliance (Cumhur ðtifakñ). Nation Alliance was soon joined by the Felicity Party and Democrat Parties.
In 2019, KñlñçdaroÃÂlu and Akà Âener continued their parties' cooperation in the 2019 municipal election, capturing the mayoralties of Istanbul and Ankara from the AKP after a quarter of a century of control by Islamist parties.
KñlñçdaroÃÂlu, who has followed a big tent policy for a long time, announced on his social media account and CHP social media accounts on 13 November 2021 that the CHP has made mistakes in the past and has decided to embark on a journey of reconciliation with his "Call for Reconciliation".
Upon KñlñçdaroÃÂlu's call, on 12 February 2022, six opposition party leaders (Good Party Chairman Meral Akà Âener, Future Party Chairman Ahmet DavutoÃÂlu, DEVA Party Chairman Ali Babacan, Felicity Party Chairman Temel KaramollaoÃÂlu) met in Ahlatlñbel, Ankara to discuss a consensus text on a strengthened parliamentary system and an electoral alliance was officially announced, the alliance was called the "Table of Six".
When the issue of a joint candidate was raised by the Table of Six, KñlñçdaroÃÂlu pointed to the Table of Six on FOX TV's morning show "ÃÂalar Saat" on 5 September 2022 and said, "If there is a consensus on me, I am ready to run for the presidential elections." This was the first time KñlñçdaroÃÂlu openly expressed his will to run for the presidential elections. Ekrem ðmamoÃÂlu, the mayor of Istanbul, and Mansur Yavaà  the mayor of Ankara announced their support for KñlñçdaroÃÂlu's candidacy. On 6 March 2023, he declared his candidacy for the 2023 Turkish presidential election. His candidacy is supported by the Party of European Socialists. He was beaten by incumbent president ErdoÃÂan in the runoff election.
After his loss, he was voted out as party leader at the 38th Republican People's Party Ordinary Convention on 5 November 2023 and was succeeded by ÃÂzgür ÃÂzel.
KñlñçdaroÃÂlu has been described as a social democrat.
In January 2016, he was prosecuted for insulting President ErdoÃÂan for making statements that implied the President is a dictator after KñlñçdaroÃÂlu spoke out against the arrest of over 20 Academics for Peace who signed a petition condemning a military crackdown in the Kurdish-dominated southeast. What KñlñçdaroÃÂlu said was: "Academics who express their opinions have been detained one by one on instructions given by a so-called dictator."
KñlñçdaroÃÂlu criticized the European Court of Human Rights for rejecting a petition from a Turkish teacher who applied to the ECHR claiming that he was wrongly dismissed from his position during the 2016-17 Turkish purges. The ECHR said that plaintiffs should apply to Turkey's State of Emergency Investigation Commission before applying to the Court. KñlñçdaroÃÂlu replied: "Don't you know what is going on in Turkey? Which commission are you talking about? People are dying in prisons. We waited five months to just appoint members."
During a visit to the headquarters of the pro-Kurdish Peoples Democratic Party (HDP) he emphasized that the place where a solution to the Kurdish question was to be found was the parliament and opposed the closure of the HDP. In relation to the Kurdish language being recognized as an "unknown language" in the minutes of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey, he emphasized that Turkey nationally broadcasts in the Kurdish language itself and suggested to revise the practice.
KñlñçdaroÃÂlu said he would continue to support the Turkish drone industry.
On 31 May 2022, in response to Devlet Bahçeli, KñlñçdaroÃÂlu defined himself as nationalist, saying "I am not like Bahçeli, I am a real nationalist, a real idealist." On 6 May 2023, during his rally in Erzincan, KñlñçdaroÃÂlu said:
KñlñçdaroÃÂlu is in favor of Turkey's strengthened role in NATO. In an interview with The Wall Street Journal, KñlñçdaroÃÂlu stated, "Turkey is a member of the Western alliance and NATO, and Putin also knows this well. Turkey must comply with decisions taken by NATO."
KñlñçdaroÃÂlu declared that he will pursue a more Western-oriented policy if he comes to power in the presidential and parliamentary elections. He also conveyed positive messages to the European Union.
During a program at the Johns Hopkins University in Washington, KñlñçdaroÃÂlu said, "The full membership to the EU is a common objective of all six opposition leaders. We are going to implement our democratic reforms without waiting for the EU to open negotiation chapters. We will bring all the democratic rules to our country."
KñlñçdaroÃÂlu vowed to establish the "Organization of Peace and Cooperation in the Middle East" with Iran, Iraq, Syria and Turkey as its member states.
KñlñçdaroÃÂlu is in favour of Turkey's support to Azerbaijan and said the country's position is in line with international laws.
KñlñçdaroÃÂlu has criticized the Turkish government's intervention in Syria's internal affairs. He also has explicitly supported the deportation of Syrian refugees from Turkey, citing economic strain on citizens and the alleged desire of humans to live in their region of birth.
KñlñçdaroÃÂlu has referred to ErdoÃÂan and Mitsotakis as "populists who play [the] war card as their votes are declining" amid the recent increasing tension between two countries over the Aegean Islands. Although he declared his aim to improve relations with Greece, KñlñçdaroÃÂlu strongly opposed the militarization of Greek Islands.
KñlñçdaroÃÂlu has approved of ErdoÃÂan's "balanced" handling of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, and the Black Sea Grain Initiative. He promised to continue construction of the Akkuyu Nuclear Power Plant, which is being built by Russian contractors. However, later on the campaign, he changed his stance to be more critical of Russia by accusing Russia of election interference and urging Turkey to act more in line within the Western alliance, Russia rejected his accusations. KñlñçdaroÃÂlu backtracked some of his comments but continued to maintain a pro-Western position for the rest of the campaign.
Kemal KñlñçdaroÃÂlu married his cousin, Selvi Gündüz, and they had a son, Kerem, had two daughters, Aslñ and Zeynep, and a granddaughter from Aslñ's marriage.
In 1950s, his father changed their surname from Karabulut to KñlñçdaroÃÂlu, since all the other people in their village had the same surname. KñlñçdaroÃÂlu's family is also locally known as the Cebeligiller and belongs to the Kureyà Âan tribe. KñlñçdaroÃÂlu married a former journalist, Selvi Gündüz, in 1974.
KñlñçdaroÃÂlu has an intermediate grasp of French and is a passive speaker of Zazaki, being more accustomed to the dialect of the Bingöl region. When the then AK Party deputy chairman Hüseyin ÃÂelik questioned his origins, KñlñçdaroÃÂlu claimed descent from Turkmens from Khorasan who first settled in Akà Âehir and arrived in Dersim after the Battle of Chaldiran. He also noted himself as a descendant of the Sufi mystic Seydi Mahmut Hayrani, whose tomb is located in Akà Âehir. While some journalists have denoted his Alevi identity, KñlñçdaroÃÂlu refrained from making statements about his religious beliefs for a long time, and in July 2011, he reaffirmed his Alevi identity but refused to delve into ethnic and religious politics.
KñlñçdaroÃÂlu has four published books and many articles:
Istanbul
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