TURKEY: CHP CONVENTION TO AFFIRM BAYKAL'S

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 ANKARA 000746 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/18/2018 TAGS: PGOV PREL TU SUBJECT: TURKEY: CHP CONVENTION TO AFFIRM BAYKAL'S DEATHGRIP ON PARTY Classified By: Political Counselor Janice G. Weiner, for Reasons 1.4 (b ,d) ¶1. (C) SUMMARY. Few expect great change to come from the opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) regular general convention, April 26-27. Deniz Baykal's iron grip on internal party processes virtually assures his reinstatement as chairman, and any changes to the Administrative Board will likely be cosmetic at best. While some steadfast supporters admire Baykal's uncompromising rhetoric, the general public despairs of CHP's failure to play its role as constructive opposition party at a time of economic and political upheaval. Baykal has used the inherently undemocratic patronage structure of Turkish political parties to lock in delegates' support. The few challengers willing to risk their political futures have little hope of surmounting the 20 percent threshold required to run for chairman; they can neither guarantee the rewards doled out by Baykal and his cronies nor generate sufficient momentum to secure the backing of those privately urging a return to CHP's social democratic roots. END SUMMARY. What's the Point? -------------- ¶2. (SBU) Baykal, who came in with a whopping 4 percent in a recent survey of Turkey's most admired politicians (PM Erdogan garnered 37 percent),is nevertheless expected to win easy re-election as CHP Chairman. Baykal oversaw changes to the party charter in 2005 that limit the chance of opposing factions winning control of local branches, solidifying his hold over delegates voting at the party congress. "The delegate system of the party does not allow for a radical change in the leadership," former CHP Hakkari MP Esat Canan stated. Baykal opponents claim delegates are all friends or relatives of Baykal and his immediate circle. Secretary General Onder Sav "owns the delegates," contacts report. Former candidate for parliament Necdet Pamir maintains Sav's wife, daughter, housekeeper, and the housekeeper's husband are all delegates. Former MP Yakup Kepenek says that in addition to loyalists, Baykal packs the delegates with people from outside the party who will owe him. To keep would-be opponents on their heels, the time and location of provincial meetings to determine candidates are often "incorrectly" advertised. ¶3. (C) The biggest obstacle to change, according to former MP �0A;and CHP-founder Ismet Inonu's granddaughter Gulsun Bilgehan, is that chairmanship candidates need to obtain signatures of 20 percent of the delegates. Although the actual voting is held in secret, the signature list makes a public record of the traitors. Former Vice Chairman and Baykal challenger Esref Erdem claims this cuts both ways -- because delegates are human, they are susceptible to pressure and change. Baykal dark-horse challenger Umut Oran told the press CHP delegates are afraid of the party leadership. Perhaps with good reason: When Mustafa Sarigul, former mayor of Istanbul's Sisli district, challenged Baykal in 2004, he was driven out of the party. The Competition -------------- ¶4. (C) Despite the odds, a few brave challengers have stepped forward. Samsun MP Haluk Koc, a hematologist with solid party credentials, may have the best shot at toppling Baykal, although his critics contend he offers CHP only more of the same. His campaign aggressively worked to pull delegates out from under Baykal's thumb by attending local congresses. Ankara MP Esref Erdem and Istanbul deputy Ali Topuz are also in the running but with little chance of winning sufficient delegate support. Would-be challenger Professor Suheyl Batum, an alternative choice to Koc early on, ultimately concluded he did not want his fate resting in Baykal's hands; he never applied to become a CHP member. ¶5. (SBU) In Batum's place came a late-entry party unknown: Umut Oran, a well-educated young businessman who founded a textile company in Bolu in 1997 and now serves as president of the Turkey Ready-Made Clothing Industry Board, the European Apparel Manufacturers Association and the Bolu ANKARA 00000746 002 OF 003 Chamber of Commerce and Industry. Although not directly involved in politics, Oran reportedly was persuaded to run for CHP's leadership by industry and NGO colleagues advocating genuine change. Oran offers extensive connections throughout Turkey and abroad, more authentic social democratic credentials, and the backing of a number of former Batum supporters. Initial press buzz was positive, but failed to shake off the too-little too-late verdict. By early April even his supporters acknowledged Oran "has no chance in this election." One commentator noted, however, "Oran sees politics as a marathon and adjusts his strategies accordingly." Other candidates Ayhan Yalcinkaya and Tolga Yarman have made no noticeable impression. ¶6. (C) CHP's top-down mentality squelches change, according to Bilgehan. Its members do not go out among the people; they do not listen to villagers or consult. Challengers fall prey to that same error -- they announce their intention to challenge, and then they try to build a following. A more fruitful approach would be to develop a movement for change within the party, Bilgehan said. From that movement, participants could determine a candidate. She sees no sign party dissidents are ready to change approach, however. Former CHP leader Hikmet Cetin echoed her pessimism, predicting, "Baykal is going to continue to be the chairman and Onder Sav, the secretary-general. This is an unchangeable sphere...Its change cannot even be proposed." More of the Same - Paralysis -------------- ¶7. (U) At the congress, delegates will also vote on the Central Administrative Board (MYK) members, the 80-member Party Assembly (a higher, wisemen-type council that meets less frequently than the MYK),and the Supreme Disciplinary Board. Baykal cronies will likely retain control over key party positions: Deputy Chairmen are currently Onur Oymen, Cevdet Selvi, and Mustafa Ozyurek serve as Deputy Chairmen, and Onder Sav is the Secretary General. ¶8. (C) After the convention, program committees elected during the congress will begin the "long overdue" process of revising the 10-year old party program, according to Ankara MP Tekin Bingol. The new program will offer CHP analysis on Turkey's social and economic developments, including "regional imbalances" and the Kurdish problem. Baykal partisan MP Husnu Collu acknowledges the program will be revised but cautions against expecting major changes: "the old program was 100 percent correct." Collu and other Baykal supporters seem willing to overlook CHP's measly one-point increase at the polls in July parliamentary elections, despite the momentum of record-breaking Republic Rallies and hype that portrayed PM Erdogan as the next Ayatollah. Given CHP's current wide-spread reputation as hopelessly dysfunctional, internally undemocratic and more neo-nationalist than social democratic, few hold out hope for meaningful review or change of party strategies. ¶9. (C) COMMENT. Despite his and his party's dismal poll showings (down to 12 percent in April),Baykal unabashedly continues the obstructionist politics that have polarized Turkish society and paralyzed parliament. CHP has abrogated its opposition role to the judiciary, blocking legislative progress on key democratic and economic issues without offering solutions or engaging in constructive dialogue. The party has appealed over a hundred laws to the Constitutional Court since 2002, including the headscarf ban amendments, the social security law, the Foundations Law and other EU-related reform measures. Baykal's decrepit chairmanship undermines the argument that the all-powerful "deep state" pulls the strings in Turkey - booting Baykal and installing even a marginally more presentable opposition leader would be a more effective weapon against Erdogan's ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) than military or judicial pressure. With 70 percent of his own party actively opposed to him, people vote CHP in spite of Baykal, not because of him. Everyone but Baykal's cronies, held firmly in check by Turkey's patronage politics, agrees change is desperately needed, but Baykal's deathgrip on the party suggests this congress offers little hope for new blood. END COMMENT. ANKARA 00000746 003 OF 003 Visit Ankara's Classified Web Site at http://www.intelink.sgov.gov/wiki/Portal:Turk ey WILSON