CHP in chaos

Soon after the Republican People’s Party (CHP) Supreme Disciplinary Board (YDK) decided not to dismiss controversial Mayor Mustafa Sarigül from the party, CHP leader Deniz Baykal on Monday called for new party elections to be held.

In an overtly hostile decision towards party leadership that actively campaigned for the dismissal of Sarigül, a majority in the YDK decided not to dismiss him.

The party remains divided on the issue, with Baykal supporters disappointed and those opposed to Baykal ecstatic over the decision.

Reports say that the party congress Baykal has called in order to counter the threat posed by Sarigül will be held sometime in January.

In an earlier opposition move to change party leadership, Baykal had called for a surprise congress in July 2004 and then had dismissed leading members of the opposition. Deputies who were dismissed later returned to the party after contesting their dismissals in court.

Sarigül, after presenting his defense to the YDK, said the allegations made against him were started by mafia members against whose dominance in the municipality he fought, adding that nation-wide rallies were undertaken in response to demands made by the people themselves.

He said the party leader, deputy leader and the general secretary, who failed to investigate the baseless accusations they had leveled before making them public, had perpetrated the real crime.