"Ataturk's party faces fight to regain its relevance in Turkey
By Vincent Boland in Ankara
Published: January 28 2005 02:00 | Last updated: January 28 2005 02:00
Turkey's main opposition Republican People's party (CHP) meets this weekend to try to resolve a leadership challenge amid claims of corruption and death threats. The party founded by Mustafa Kemal Ataturk has the haunting feeling that it is on the brink of irrelevance.
Deniz Baykal, the CHP's remote and gaunt 66-year-old leader, is being challenged by two men largely unknown outside the party's ranks: Mustafa Sarigul, mayor of a district of Istanbul, and Zulfu Livaneli, a member of parliament for the city. Mr Baykal's supporters, and even his detractors, say he is likely to survive at the party's special convention.
However, that will not resolve divisions within the party or change the fact that Turkey's entire political opposition is in disarray."
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