Turkish Opposition CHP Faces Violent Standoff After Court Ouster

ANKARA — Police stormed the offices of Turkey’s main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) on Sunday, firing tear gas and rubber bullets at party supporters and officials who had barricaded themselves inside for three days.

The violent raid ended a tense standoff between rank-and-file members and a leadership team appointed by an appeals court, dramatically escalating tensions between the opposition and President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s government.

Supporters had fortified the courtyard entrance with buses and the building interior with furniture. Local media footage from the courtyard and inside showed clouds of tear gas as riot police forced their way through the premises, before officers removed journalists from the scene.

Once the raid began, supporters attempted to resist by spraying officers with fire extinguishers but were quickly subdued. Doors, furniture, and ground-floor windows were heavily damaged in the melee.

Among those inside was Ozgur Ozel, elected CHP chairperson in November 2023, who was shown in a video being served the court order for his removal—a document he immediately ripped up.

Emerging from party headquarters to cheers, Ozel told journalists: “We are leaving now only to reclaim it in such a way that no one will be able to meddle again. When we return, neither this administration nor its collaborators will dare do this once more.”

Ozel and his supporters then marched roughly 8 kilometers (5 miles) to Parliament, joined by hundreds of passersby despite heavy rain and hail. Before arriving, he stopped at National Sovereignty Park and asked the crowd if they were willing to rebuild the party for a third time.

The CHP was founded in 1923 by Turkey’s founder, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, but was shut down after the 1980 military coup before reemerging in 1992.

Addressing a crowd outside the legislature, Ozel declared the CHP “de facto shuttered” but vowed it would be reestablished.

Though ousted as chairperson, Ozel remains an elected lawmaker from Manisa province and the party’s group speaker.

The appeals court on Thursday nullified Ozel’s election, suspending him and the party’s executive board. It ruled he should be replaced by his predecessor, Kemal Kilicdaroglu, who led the party for 13 years without winning a national election.

In his only election as leader, Ozel delivered a significant blow to Erdogan’s party in the 2024 municipal polls.

The opposition alleges the court decision was politically motivated to weaken the CHP as it faces a wave of legal cases targeting its members and officials.

The next presidential election is not due until 2028, but Erdogan could call an early vote. His main potential challenger, Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu—a CHP member—has been imprisoned since March 2023 and is on trial for corruption.

Observers suggest the legal actions against the CHP, largely centered on corruption allegations, aim to neutralize the party before the next election. The government maintains that Turkey’s courts are impartial and independent.

The vast majority of the party rallied behind Ozel. He and most party members had occupied the Ankara headquarters since Thursday’s ruling, preventing the newly appointed administration from entering. The rival teams had been scheduled to meet Sunday afternoon to resolve the impasse.

Early Sunday, a crowd gathered outside the building, watched by a growing police presence. Kilicdaroglu’s lawyer, Celal Celik, requested police assistance to vacate the premises, a request approved by the provincial governor.

The police raid occurred at the start of a nine-day holiday for the Muslim festival of Eid al-Adha, when many citizens are on vacation and major cities are less populated.

Erdogan has governed Turkey, initially as prime minister and since 2014 as president, for over two decades. His electoral record was dented in 2019 when the CHP won control of several major cities in local elections. In Istanbul, Imamoglu became a popular figure widely seen as capable of defeating Erdogan.

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