Ankara, Turkey. Turkish opposition leader Ozgur Ozel and 91 breakaway lawmakers applied to the interior ministry on Friday to establish the New Party, following a court ruling that annulled the Republican People’s Party’s 2023 congress and removed Ozel as chairman.
The group said it aimed to regroup the opposition and challenge President Tayyip Erdogan after what it described as an unprecedented legal crackdown on the CHP.
New party application
Ankara MP Murat Emir said the application marked a significant moment in Turkish political history.
“Today will be a significant milestone in Turkish political history,” Emir told reporters after submitting the application. “We are leaving an occupied party behind.”
Ozel and the 91 lawmakers resigned from the CHP this week. The CHP was founded by Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, the founder of modern Turkey.
Parliamentary balance
The New Party would become the second-largest party in parliament behind Erdogan’s ruling conservative AK Party, which holds 277 of the 600 seats.
The new party would have 92 lawmakers, down from the CHP’s previous total of 135. Forty-four MPs remain in the CHP, including supporters of Ozel and others backing Kemal Kilicdaroglu, the former CHP chairman re-appointed by the court to lead the party.
Opposition divisions
The New Party is expected to attract most CHP voters and present a new challenge to Erdogan. However, the wider fragmentation of the opposition could strengthen the president’s prospects of extending his 23-year rule in the NATO-member country.
The opposition and some rights groups have described the crackdown as politically motivated and undemocratic, citing the jailing of hundreds of elected CHP officials and members since 2024. The government rejects those claims and says the judiciary is independent.