Overview
- A court in Ankara annulled the CHP's 2023 leadership vote and provisionally reinstated Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, which led to Özgür Özel's removal and internal disciplinary moves by Kılıçdaroğlu.
- Özel has declared he will found a new party and is consulting local CHP chairs and the party council about the launch and membership transfers.
- Observers report that roughly 80 of the CHP's 135 MPs could defect to Özel's new formation, a shift that would immediately make it the largest opposition group in parliament if it occurs.
- Özel says his move was driven in part by the appeals court going on summer recess without deciding his challenge, leaving the legal status of his removal unresolved.
- The split unfolds against sustained legal pressure on the CHP since its 2024 municipal wins, with more than 25 elected CHP mayors detained or removed, a backdrop that could deepen political and civic tensions.