Turkey's 2023 Elections: The Main Opposition Party at the Crossroads

In February 2022, Turkey's six opposition parties signed a historic pact to restore the parliamentary system, the rule of law, and rights and freedoms if they win the 2023 elections. The main opposition Republican People's Party (RPP), was the main driver behind this achievement. This panel will discuss the changes in the RPP and the coalition's prospects. How did the RPP achieve this coalition, including Islamist and rightist parties? How does the alliance-building affect the inner dynamics and the organizational base of Turkey's oldest party? What will be the main determinants of electoral success for the party and the alliance?

ABOUT THE SPEAKERS

Dr. Yunus Emre is a Turkish parliamentarian and the Republican People's Party (CHP) Assembly member. He is also a member of the Parliament's Foreign Affairs Committee and the Parliamentary Assembly of the European Council (PACE). Before becoming an MP, he worked as an associate professor of political science at Istanbul Kultur University. His publications on the CHP history and social democracy include The Emergence of Social Democracy in Turkey: The Left and the Transformation of the Republican People's Party (Londra: IB Tauris, 2014) and Herkes için Demokrasi: Tek Adam Rejiminden Güçlendirilmiş Parlamenter Demokrasiye ("Democracy for All: From the One-Man Regime to Strengthened Parliamentary Democracy," Istanbul: Tekin, 2021). He has a Ph.D. from Boğaziçi University and held several other elected positions in the CHP organization, such as the Chairman of the Bakırköy District Youth Branch and the President of CHP's nationwide Youth Branches.  

Seren Selvin Korkmaz is the co-founder and executive director of IstanPol Institute and a doctoral researcher at Stockholm University, where she also teaches Middle East politics. Her research focuses on populism, political parties, voter perception, election strategies, and the political economy of exclusion. In addition, Korkmaz is a non-resident fellow at the Middle East Institute in Washington D.C. and was recently selected to be a part of the "Young Leadership Program" of Friedrich Ebert Stiftung Turkey. Through her engagements in a broad spectrum of academic and non-governmental initiatives, Korkmaz strives to bridge civil society, academia, and public policy through her research outputs and policy recommendations.