Overview
- Ekrem İmamoğlu announced on social media that he has left the CHP and joined the Yeni Parti while remaining in pretrial detention.
- İmamoğlu has been held since March 2025 on corruption charges that he denies and was earlier chosen by the CHP as its presidential candidate.
- The Yeni Parti was formed in July when Özgür Özel and about 90 deputies left the CHP after a court removed Özel from party leadership.
- The Yeni Parti now controls more parliamentary seats than the CHP, making it the country’s second-largest political force and shifting opposition math ahead of future contests.
- Human-rights groups and opposition figures say hundreds of CHP members have been detained since 2024 and critics warn the legal moves and defections could reshape Turkish politics and voter options going forward.