Overview
- An Ankara appeals court annulled the CHP's November 2023 congress and suspended Özgür Özel, ordering the provisional reinstatement of former chair Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, a ruling that set the dispute in motion.
- After Özel and most of the party occupied CHP headquarters in defiance, Ankara’s governor approved a request from Kılıçdaroğlu’s camp and riot police stormed the building on Sunday using tear gas and rubber bullets to evict those inside.
- Özel left the headquarters to lead supporters on a march toward Parliament, the party filed an appeal with Turkey’s Supreme Court, and legal experts say a final ruling could take more than a year.
- The eviction and the court decision prompted detentions, damage inside the party offices, broad criticism from opposition groups and questions from analysts about whether the moves are intended to weaken the CHP ahead of possible early elections.
- Government spokespeople have defended the judiciary’s role while smaller opposition parties have condemned the action as anti-democratic, underscoring a widening political and legal crack in Turkey’s competitive landscape.