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Kemal Kilicdaroglu and Ozgur Ozel spoke by phone on Friday after a day of failed attempts to connect.
Following the call, Kilicdaroglu’s press advisor, Atakan Sonmez, announced outside the office that Kilicdaroglu had conveyed his intention to take the party to a congress at the earliest appropriate time
"Ozgur Ozel welcomed the decision, noting that it aligned with his own demands. He stated that he would evaluate the matter with his colleagues before following up with Mr. Kilicdaroglu," Sonmez added.
Sonmez said Kilicdaroglu had no scheduled meetings with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan or Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) leader Devlet Bahceli, and that reports of Central Executive Board appointments being made were not true.
He added that Kilicdaroglu had a vocal cord issue and might not be able to make a public statement.
"If his voice recovers a little by end of day, he may be able to make a brief statement at the exit. Not a long press conference but an informational statement," Sonmez said.
When asked when Kilicdaroglu would visit party headquarters, Sonmez was direct: "Wherever the CHP’s chairman is, that is the general headquarters. Rest assured, he will go. The chairman's duties commenced the moment the court ruling was issued. The Party Assembly determined by the 37th Congress, along with all elected boards, officially assumed their responsibilities as of yesterday," Sonmez said.
Hours after the phone call, Ozel addressed a large crowd from atop a bus outside the Republican People's Party (CHP) general headquarters and disclosed the contents of his conversation with Kilicdaroglu.
"I told him: 'Do you see the street? Do you hear the people? Do you see my 80-year-old aunt and the 15-year-old child in the garden of this family home, crying side by side? Do you hear the uprising rising from all corners of Türkiye? Today 65 bar associations are in revolt. All professional organizations, unions, and political parties from far right to far left are standing side by side, saying this is not a CHP matter, this is a Türkiye matter, and they expect something from you,'" Ozel said.
"I received a question: 'What do you say?' My answer is clear; I have no concessions. We want a ballot box as soon as possible, we want a congress," Ozel stated.
He added that after the Eid holiday, he would mobilize for the congress that Kilicdaroglu had described as coming "at the most appropriate time."
"First, we will save the congress, then we will save the election ballot box," Ozel noted.
"We are defending democracy, the political parties' regime, the people's right to be the decision-maker, the greatest achievement of the Republic, the ballot box, and the right to vote and be elected," he said.
"Appointed trustees cannot govern this party. CHP cannot be governed and we will not allow it to be governed by AK Party's nullity branches," Ozel added, framing the current turmoil as "the birth pangs of tomorrow's government."
"We will endure this pain, we will be aware that this pain is a good omen. We will suffer, we will struggle, but we will endure. Because 100 years later we will once again be this nation's hope and we will save this nation," Ozel said.
On Kilicdaroglu accepting the court injunction, Ozel said: "I do not expect and do not find it right that someone who served as general chairman by being elected multiple times, by all of our votes, would assume such a role by appointment. My view on this matter has been extremely clear from the very beginning."
The Supreme Election Council (YSK) rejected CHP's application requesting that mandate certificates issued to Ozel's leadership be declared valid and that elected officials continue in their posts.
YSK Chairman Serdar Mutta stated that the council rejected the request for a determination that the congress and convention results were valid and that those elected should continue their duties.
The council also ruled there was no need for a decision on a separate request by CHP's lawyer regarding the standing of an application filed by Kilicdaroglu's side.
The court's formal notification of the injunction was served to Kilicdaroglu at his working office by court enforcement officials.
Plaintiff's lawyer Onur Yusuf Uregen told reporters: "This ruling once again showed how right we were in this case. A new process has begun. I congratulate our General Chairman Mr. Kemal Kilicdaroglu and I have full confidence that he will bring the party into unity."
Asked whether Kilicdaroglu was now formally the general chairman, Uregen said: "Yes, right now CHP's General Chairman is Kemal Kilicdaroglu."
Ozel's lawyers filed a new appeal with the 36th Civil Chamber of the Regional Court of Appeals, requesting the immediate lifting of the precautionary injunction.
Alternatively, the petition requested that the case file either be reassigned to another regional appellate chamber or referred directly to the relevant civil chamber of the Court of Cassation.
The petition argued Ozel had standing as a third party whose interests were materially affected by the injunction under Article 394/3 of the Civil Procedure Code.
Good Party (Iyi Party) leader Musavat Dervisoglu visited Ozel at CHP headquarters and the two held a joint press conference.
"Appointing a trustee to a 100-year-old political party, and through a ruling like this, is an absurdity no matter how you look at it," Dervisoglu said.
He added: "This matter goes beyond a political party's congress, it is a matter that could have serious consequences for our electoral system and our Constitution."
Asked whether he would meet Kilicdaroglu, Dervisoglu said, "I do not accept anyone who does not draw their power from the people as a political interlocutor. I cannot deal with appointees."
Ozel thanked Dervisoglu, saying he was among the leaders whose views he exchanged most closely on Türkiye's issues. "I sincerely thank Mr. Dervisoglu on behalf of myself, our party's executives, our party and Türkiye's democracy," Ozel said.
On Bahceli's suggestion that Kilicdaroglu should renounce the reinstatement for the party's sake, Ozel said: "The addressee of his proposal regarding renunciation is, of course, Mr. Kilicdaroglu. He needs to answer it himself."
Kilicdaroglu also updated his X biography to reflect his title as CHP general chairman.
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