Turkish riot police stormed the headquarters of the Republican People's Party (CHP), Turkey's main opposition party, in Ankara on Sunday, firing tear gas and cutting through the building's entrance gate to enforce a court ruling that removed the party's elected leader and reinstated a predecessor. The dramatic scenes marked a sharp escalation in a political crisis that has drawn international criticism and sent thousands of supporters into the streets.
The confrontation followed a ruling by the 36th Civil Chamber of the Ankara Regional Court of Justice, which declared the CHP's 2023 internal congresses — at which Özgür Özel was elected party leader — to be null and void, citing allegations that delegates had been paid to vote for him. The court ordered that the former party chief, Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, a 77-year-old party veteran who lost to President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in the 2023 presidential election, be reinstated as leader. Kılıçdaroğlu's legal team subsequently applied to Ankara police to have the building formally handed over to his new leadership, and the city's governor instructed officers to "implement the court decision." More than 100 officers arrived at the building, where Özel's supporters had barricaded the entrance with furniture. Footage from the scene showed clashes between the two factions inside, with those resisting the police using hoses against officers before tear gas was deployed.
Özel, who had vowed to defy the ruling, was eventually removed from the building. He later emerged to address crowds outside, declaring: "They tried to uproot and throw us out — to where?" He then led hundreds of supporters on foot through the rain to the Turkish parliament, where thousands more gathered in solidarity. Özel is demanding that a new internal party congress be held within 40 days. Several CHP members of parliament condemned Kılıçdaroğlu in stark terms, with one MP calling on him to "pull back your third-rate mafia thugs" and another accusing him of sacrificing the hopes of millions for personal gain.
The crisis unfolds against a broader backdrop of pressure on Turkish opposition politics. Ekrem İmamoğlu, the popular mayor of Istanbul widely regarded as the CHP's leading presidential candidate, has been in detention for more than a year on corruption charges that his supporters describe as politically motivated. Human Rights Watch warned on Saturday that Erdoğan's government was undermining Turkish democracy through "abusive tactics" against the CHP. Erdoğan, who has led Turkey since 2003 first as prime minister and then as president, can only seek another presidential term if early elections are called before 2028 or the constitution is changed — and both government and opposition sources expect elections as early as next year.
The court's decision is contentious on procedural grounds as well: critics note that reinstating a party leader through civil litigation is a power that normally belongs to the Supreme Electoral Council, not a regional civil court. For many CHP members and international observers, Sunday's police action represents a pivotal moment for Turkish democracy — one that will shape the opposition's ability to mount a credible challenge in the elections ahead.