TIMES International
Turkish police stormed the offices of the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) on Sunday, firing tear gas and rubber bullets at party officials and supporters who had barricaded themselves inside for three days following a court ruling that nullified the election of party chairperson Ozgur Ozel.
The operation escalated tensions between the government of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and the opposition as both sides accused the other of undermining Turkey’s democratic process, according to AP.
Supporters had fortified the CHP headquarters in Ankara with buses and furniture, attempting to resist eviction.
Footage from inside and outside the building showed clouds of tear gas as riot police advanced, while journalists were removed by authorities.
Fire extinguishers were sprayed in an attempt to repel officers, causing damage to doors, furniture, and ground floor windows.
Ozel, elected CHP chairperson in November 2023 but dismissed by the appeals court, was inside the building when police served him the court order, which he tore up on camera.
Leaving to cheers from supporters, Ozel vowed to reclaim the party “in such a way that no one will be able to meddle again.”
He led a march of hundreds to Parliament, five miles away, pausing at National Sovereignty Park to ask if the crowd was willing to rebuild the CHP for a third time.
Founded in 1923 by Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, the CHP was closed during the 1980 military coup and reestablished in 1992. At Parliament, Ozel described the party as “de facto shuttered” but pledged its revival.
Though ousted as chairperson, he remains a lawmaker from Manisa and the party’s group speaker.
The court ruling, issued on Thursday, suspended Ozel and members of the executive board, reinstating Kemal Kilicdaroglu, Ozel’s predecessor who led the CHP for 13 years without winning national elections.
Ozel’s sole tenure had delivered a strong showing against Erdogan’s Justice and Development Party in the 2024 municipal polls, particularly in Istanbul, where opposition candidate Ekrem Imamoglu remains imprisoned on corruption charges.
Observers have characterised the legal challenges targeting the CHP as an attempt to weaken the party ahead of future elections, while the government insists Turkey’s judiciary operates independently.
Erdogan, who has led Turkey since 2003, can call for early elections, though the next presidential vote is scheduled for 2028. His record suffered a setback in 2019 when the CHP won control of several major cities, including Istanbul.
The CHP headquarters had been occupied by Ozel and his supporters since Thursday, preventing Kilicdaroglu’s newly appointed team from entering.
Attempts to resolve the standoff with police intervention were approved by the provincial governor, coinciding with the start of a nine-day Eid al-Adha holiday, when many citizens were away from urban centres.
Despite heavy rain and hail during the march to Parliament, Ozel’s supporters were joined by hundreds of passersby. He called on the crowd to rebuild the party while promising it would resist future interference by government-aligned actors.
The incident marks the most violent escalation in the months-long dispute over CHP leadership, highlighting Erdogan’s fraught relationship with a resurgent opposition and signalling potential instability in Turkey’s political landscape ahead of upcoming elections.
