Overview
- A court annulled Ozgur Ozel’s 2023 internal victory and named former leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu as interim head, triggering a legal change to CHP governance.
- Riot police used tear gas to force entry into the CHP’s Ankara headquarters after party members blocked entrances in defiance of the court order.
- Supporters of both Kilicdaroglu and Ozel clashed at the building, and police intervened after Kilicdaroglu backers attempted to push inside the headquarters.
- Human Rights Watch and other observers warned that the court ruling and the use of security forces reflect abusive tactics that weaken democratic checks on the government.
- Similar court interventions and last year’s jailing of Istanbul mayor Ekrem Imamoglu show a pattern of state-backed legal moves that have already replaced local CHP administrators and constrained opposition organization.