CHP’s Autumn Strategy: From Rhetoric to Economic Impact

Summary:

The Republican People’s Party (CHP) is entering the next phase of its long-running campaign for early elections and the release of jailed Istanbul Mayor and presidential candidate Ekrem İmamoğlu. With over 60 rallies held across the country, the party’s new “autumn strategy” will focus less on slogans and more on economic realities, anti-corruption probes, and concrete policy solutions that “touch people’s pocket books.”

From “Freedom and Justice” to “Solutions That Matter”

Following a summer marked by mass rallies calling for İmamoğlu’s release and an early vote, CHP leaders are now shifting gears. According to reports in Cumhuriyet, the party’s autumn strategy will revolve around explaining policy proposals directly to citizens rather than simply criticizing the government.

Senior CHP officials say the focus will be on corruption, economic hardship, and social inequality — particularly exposing uninvestigated graft allegations from the AKP era that municipalities have inherited.

“In this new phase, we will tell the people not just what went wrong under AKP rule, but how we plan to fix it,” one senior official said.

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Party Convention to Finalize the New Platform

CHP Chairman Özgür Özel, who described the current movement as “the longest-running election campaign in the history of the Republic,” is expected to formally unveil the party’s updated program at the upcoming late-November party congress.

According to party sources, this platform — in preparation for months — will outline CHP’s policy vision across key areas including justice, education, healthcare, green transition, and tax reform.

“After the congress, we’ll start a comprehensive outreach effort. Citizens will hear more about our plans for affordable housing, student dormitories, resilient cities, and a fairer tax system,” said a CHP strategist.

Özel recently previewed some of these ideas at a rally in Sarıyer, highlighting social housing, urban resilience, and justice in taxation as cornerstones of the party’s platform.

İmamoğlu’s Imprisonment Remains Central Symbol

The CHP’s rallies continue to center on Ekrem İmamoğlu’s imprisonment — now a unifying symbol for Turkey’s democratic opposition.
Party figures insist the ongoing protests are both a call for freedom and a demand for accountability, with İmamoğlu’s case viewed as emblematic of a broader erosion of rule of law.

“Every city we visit, every rally we hold, reminds people that democracy is personal — when a mayor is silenced, every citizen’s voice is muted,” one party organizer said.

Polls Show CHP Leading Ahead of Possible Snap Vote

According to a new ALF Research poll conducted between October 6–9, 2025, the CHP continues to lead as the largest political party nationwide, widening its margin over the ruling AKP.

When asked, “If a general election were held this Sunday, which party would you vote for?”

• CHP: 33.1%

• AKP: 30.6%

• DEM Party: 9.1%

• MHP: 8.5%

• Victory Party: 4.4%

• Good Party (İYİ): 4.1%

• New Welfare Party: 3.3%

• Key Party: 1.8%

• TİP: 0.9%

• Others: 4.2%

Notably, the pro-Kurdish DEM Party increased its support to 9.1%, up from its usual 7%, which analysts attribute to the government’s new “Terror-Free Turkey” narrative — a process that has paradoxically boosted sympathy for the Kurdish movement.

Meanwhile, the MHP remains below 9%, and the İYİ Party continues to lose ground, now hovering around 4%.

“Touching the Pocket” — A New Political Focus

Analysts describe CHP’s autumn turn as a calculated pivot from abstract rights discourse to kitchen-table economics — a strategy aimed at expanding the party’s reach beyond urban liberals to middle-income voters hit by inflation.

With inflation still near triple digits and unemployment among youth rising, the CHP’s new messaging will focus on daily economic pain rather than ideological debate.

“The goal is to make people feel what change means in lira terms — not just in political slogans,” a senior campaign advisor said.