A meeting between President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) Chairman Özgür Özel took place today (May 2) at the Ankara headquarters of Erdoğan’s Justice and Development Party (AKP).
Following the meeting, the two leaders did not hold a joint press conference. Özgür Özel returned to the CHP headquarters to consult with party officials without taking questions from journalists.
The Thursday meeting between Özel and Erdoğan was the first between AKP and CHP heads since September 2016, when then-AKP chairman Binali Yıldırım met with then-CHP chairman Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu.
The meeting started around 16:00 local time and lasted for approximately 1 hour and 35 minutes. Özel was accompanied by CHP member of parliament Namık Tan, while AKP group deputy chairman Mustafa Elitaş accompanied President Erdoğan.
Özel had reportedly prepared extensively for the meeting, consulting with former CHP officials such as Hikmet Çetin, Altan Öymen, Murat Karayalçın, and Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu.
In a statement last week, Özel had mentioned Turkey’s compliance with European Court of Human Rights rulings as a major priority. Additionally, the opposition leader was expected to discuss such issues as a hike to pensioners checks, large debts left by AKP officials in municipalities taken over by opposition parties, restrictions on May 1st demonstrations, and the state of prisoners allegedly detained for political reasons.
Erdoğan, meanwhile, was expected to come to the meeting to discuss the AKP’s push to rewrite Turkey’s constitution.
Turkish Parliament Speaker Numan Kurtulmuş had previously met with Özel on Tuesday in which discussions over the new constitution took center stage.
Opposition politicians have criticized the AKP’s push for a new constitution, saying they have failed to comply with the existing document, and pointing to examples such as the Can Atalay case as well as yesterday’s restrictions on May 1st demonstrations in İstanbul.
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