Overview
- A Turkish court annulled the CHP's 2023 congress, removed Özgür Özel as party leader and reinstated former leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, and police subsequently forced Özel out of the CHP headquarters.
- Özel has organized nationwide street demonstrations, demanded an extraordinary party congress to challenge the court-installed leadership and said he will pursue appeals in the courts.
- Istanbul mayor and CHP presidential hopeful Ekrem İmamoğlu remains in custody, a development opposition figures cite as part of a broader campaign of legal pressure on key rivals.
- Critics and analysts warn the court decision sets a novel legal precedent by overturning an internal party mandate in court, which they say shifts political competition from ballots to tribunals and weakens the finality of electoral results.
- Opposition leaders are pressing the EU, NATO and Western governments for stronger responses, while Western states so far have mixed criticism with restraint because of Turkey's strategic role and deep ties with Europe.