Overview
- Ozgur Ozel told CHP lawmakers on Tuesday that he has resigned from the Republican People’s Party and will found a new party widely reported to be called Yeni Parti.
- The decision follows a May Ankara court ruling that annulled the CHP’s November 2023 leadership vote and reinstated Kemal Kilicdaroglu, a ruling Ozel has appealed to the Supreme Court but that is delayed by procedural steps and the court’s summer recess.
- News reports say roughly half to two thirds of the CHP’s 135 MPs are expected to defect to Ozel’s new formation, which would likely become the largest opposition bloc in the 600-seat parliament and change legislative arithmetic.
- The split comes after a prolonged legal campaign that has seen hundreds of CHP officials and mayors detained and Istanbul mayor Ekrem Imamoglu imprisoned on criminal charges, with the government denying political interference and critics calling the prosecutions politically motivated.
- Analysts warn the fracture could give Erdogan a tactical advantage at the ballot box by weakening unified opposition control and could prompt moves toward an earlier presidential or parliamentary vote as parties reassess strategy.