ERBIL, Kurdistan Region — Kemal Kilicdaroglu was re-elected by his party members as the head of Republican People’s Party (CHP) in Turkey on Saturday and said he could resolve the Kurdish question within four years or he would give up politics.
CHP began its 36th congress on Saturday, and it continues on Sunday. Kilicdaroglu obtained 790 votes to keep his spot, while his main rival Muharrem Ince received 447 votes.
Kilicdaroglu, 60, has been in office since 2010, and has established good relations with pro-Kurdish People’s Democratic Party (HDP).
He has opposed Turkish incursion into Afrin, advocating peaceful means for solutions.
After being re-elected, Kilicdaroglu gave an acceptance speech promising to politically challenge the ruling party, AKP.
“Coming from the front lines, Kamal Ataturk once said that ‘Unnecessary war is a crime.’ Today we are facing a necessary war” which is to fight to bring justice to Turkey, said the CHP leader, quoting the founder of the Republic of Turkey. Ataturk is also the founder of the CHP.
Kilicdaroglu inaugurated the new congress and touched on internal issues, including Kurdish ones.
He said that Turkey only used to have the Kurdish question and social peace and Middle East problems before 2012, but with the AKP’s ascension to power in 2012, four other additional crises were added: democracy, economy, education, and foreign policy crises.
Kilicdaroglu said they have to differentiate between the Kurdish case and the question of terrorism.
Regarding Turkey’s role in Syria, “I am openly calling on the Turkish government to immediately form relations with the Syrian government,” he said.
With Kilicdaroglu atop CHP’s leadership, the party is seeking to gain Kurdish votes ahead of 2019 general and presidential elections.
The second-largest opposition party in Turkey, the HDP, ran a hard campaign against Recep Tayyip Erdogan in the last presidential election. Since then, both co-leaders have been arrested, with other party members been detained, or even replaced at the local level.
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