Turkish riot police storm opposition headquarters to enforce leadership ouster
Human Rights Watch condemns the operation as part of a broader legal crackdown, while analysts warn the ruling could trigger early national elections in 2028.
Hundreds of Turkish riot police deployed tear gas to storm the Ankara headquarters of the Republican People's Party (CHP) on Sunday, enforcing a court order that dismissed the party's current leader, Ozgur Ozel. Officers entered the building after party members had blocked the entrances to defy the directive, which was issued on Thursday as part of an official probe against the main opposition group.
The operation marks a significant escalation in the methods used by security forces to manage internal party disputes. Police broke through the perimeter to remove Ozel, who had been dismissed from his position. The court order cancelled Ozel's victory in the 2023 party elections and appointed former chair Kemal Kilicdaroglu as interim leader. Kilicdaroglu, described as a lacklustre figure with a history of electoral defeats, had previously attempted to enter the building with his supporters before police intervened to take control of the premises.
Ozel was forced out of the headquarters and vowed to continue the party's struggle from outside the institutional framework. "The Republican People's Party will from now be on the streets or in the squares," Ozel said as he left the site, surrounded by supporters. He stated that the party would march towards the seat of power, setting off for parliament immediately following the eviction.
The incident is part of a year-long legal crackdown by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's government against the CHP, which intensified following the arrest of Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu in 2025. Imamoglu, the CHP's presidential candidate for the 2028 election, was jailed last year after emerging as a popular rival to Erdogan. Similar scenes occurred in Istanbul last year when courts appointed an administrator to take charge of regional CHP offices.
Human Rights Watch has condemned the actions as undermining Turkish democracy, warning on Saturday that the government was using "abusive tactics" against the opposition. The organisation described the court order as the latest deeply damaging blow to the rule of law in Turkey. Analysts suggest the ruling raises the probability of early national elections in 2028, potentially triggered if Erdogan, who has ruled since 2003, seeks to run again before facing term limits.
