Overview
- An appeals court nullified Ozgur Ozel’s November 2023 election and suspended him, ordering former leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu back into party posts after a ruling that was reported on Thursday.
- Riot police cleared the CHP headquarters on Sunday, using tear gas and rubber bullets to evict Ozel and supporters who had occupied the building for three days and resisted with makeshift barricades.
- Kilicdaroglu’s lawyer formally asked police to vacate the HQ and the Ankara Governor’s Office approved the request, prompting authorities to enforce the court order and bar rival teams from entering.
- State-linked outlets say security forces detained people in a probe of the 2023 congress, while Ozel vowed street protests, led supporters toward Parliament and said the party will pursue legal appeals.
- The episode has deepened fractures in the CHP, raised the prospect of drawn-out legal appeals to higher courts, and increased concerns that judicial actions could weaken the opposition ahead of possible early elections.