Riot police used tear gas and rubber bullets to clear Turkey’s main opposition party headquarters in Ankara after supporters barricaded themselves inside following a court ruling removing party leader Ozgur Ozel.
By yourNEWS Media Newsroom
Turkish riot police stormed the headquarters of Turkey’s main opposition party Sunday, firing tear gas and rubber bullets to disperse supporters and officials who had occupied the building for several days following a controversial court ruling that removed party leadership.
The confrontation marked a dramatic escalation in a growing political crisis surrounding the Republican People’s Party, commonly known as the CHP, after an appeals court invalidated the 2023 election of party chairman Ozgur Ozel.
Video footage from local media showed riot police entering the party compound amid clouds of tear gas while supporters attempted to resist officers using fire extinguishers. Interior sections of the building, including windows, doors, and furniture on the ground floor, were heavily damaged during the operation.
Journalists covering the raid were reportedly removed from the premises as police secured the building.
Ozel had remained inside CHP headquarters in Ankara since Thursday after the appeals court ruling suspended him and members of the party executive board.
After leaving the building Sunday, Ozel addressed supporters gathered outside.
“We are leaving (the building) now only to reclaim it in a way no one will be able to interfere again,” Ozel said. “When we return neither this administration nor the administration’s collaborators will dare do this again.”
Ozel and his supporters then marched toward Turkey’s Parliament building, located several kilometers away from party headquarters.
The court ruling reinstated former CHP leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu, who led the opposition party for 13 years before losing internal leadership elections to Ozel in November 2023.
Kilicdaroglu’s attorney, Celal Celik, formally requested police assistance in removing Ozel’s faction from the headquarters building. Authorities in Ankara later approved the request.
The CHP has strongly condemned the court’s intervention, arguing the decision was politically motivated and intended to weaken the opposition ahead of future national elections.
In a social media video posted as the raid began, Ozel accused the government of targeting the party because of its growing electoral success.
“We are under attack,” Ozel said. “Our crime? To make our party Turkey’s number one party after 47 years. Our crime? Defeating the Justice and Development Party.”
“We will resist here till the end,” he added. “And if they forcibly remove us, we´ll resume our march towards (becoming) the administration in the public square.”
Ozel’s leadership was widely viewed as a turning point for the CHP after the party dealt a major setback to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his ruling Justice and Development Party during the 2024 municipal elections.
The CHP captured several major cities in those elections, continuing gains first achieved in 2019.
Among the opposition’s most prominent figures is imprisoned Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu, who many analysts have viewed as Erdogan’s strongest potential challenger in a future presidential election.
Imamoglu has remained jailed since March of last year while standing trial on corruption charges.
Opposition figures and outside observers have argued that many of the legal cases involving CHP officials are politically motivated attempts to weaken the party before the next presidential contest, currently scheduled for 2028 unless early elections are called.
The Turkish government has repeatedly denied accusations of political interference and maintains that the country’s judiciary operates independently.
The confrontation unfolded at the beginning of the Eid al-Adha holiday period, when many Turkish citizens traditionally travel outside major cities.
Erdogan has governed Turkey since 2003, first as prime minister and later as president. Although his party maintained national power, opposition victories in major urban centers during recent local elections have increased pressure on his administration and elevated the CHP’s political standing nationally.
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