ANKARA
Turkey's main opposition leader, speaking at the party's extraordinary congress in Ankara on Friday, denies claims that he is leading the party to the right.
Kemal Kilicdaroglu agreed to hold the congress after he was challenged by several of the party's lawmakers following a disappointing result in the presidential elections in August when the opposition joint candidate Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu, came second but with a lower than expected number of votes.
The Republican People's Party (CHP) gathered in Ankara's Ticaret Odasi Congresium Hall to vote to elect a party chairman.
"Respecting any identity or belief does not mean shifting to the right," Kilicdaroglu told delegates.
Kilicdaroglu added that he loves everyone without making any discrimination between right and left.
Expressing the importance of democracy and freedom, Kilicdaroglu said that he defends the rights and interests of public.
Meanwhile, the other candidate Muharrem Ince criticized Kilicdaroglu’s decision to field a joint presidential candidate with the right-wing Nationalist Movement Party.
Speaking at the congress, Ince said "When I first heard the name 'Ihsanoglu', I saw 100% failure against Erdogan."
Former Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan was elected as 12th president of Turkey in first presidential poll decided by popular vote.
Adding that he does not have any individual problem with Kilicdaroglu, Ince criticized his policy, saying "Kilicdaroglu presented Erdogan with the presidency."
Ince announced in August that he would challenge Kilicdaroglu to lead the party, which was founded by Mustafa Kemal Ataturk in 1923.
On August 10, people went to the polls to elect Turkey’s president for the first time. Erdogan won the election receiving 51.79 percent of the vote, while his rivals Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu received 38.44 percent and Selahattin Demirtas won 9.76 percent.
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