Ankara, Turkey. Turkish riot police fired tear gas and forced their way into the main opposition Republican People’s Party headquarters on Sunday to remove its ousted leadership, deepening a political crisis in Turkey.
Police intervention
Clouds of tear gas billowed inside the Republican People’s Party, or CHP, building as people inside shouted and threw objects toward the entrance while police broke through a makeshift barricade. There were no reports of injuries during the intervention.
Court ruling and eviction order
A Turkish court on Thursday ousted CHP leader Ozgur Ozel, annulling the results of the party congress at which he was elected in 2023 and citing irregularities. On Sunday, Ankara’s governor ordered the eviction of those inside the headquarters.
The court reinstated former CHP chair Kemal Kilicdaroglu, who lost to President Tayyip Erdogan in a national election that year.
Political and market reaction
Analysts have described the court ruling as a test of the balance between democracy and autocracy in NATO member Turkey, and said it could prolong Erdogan’s 23-year rule. Financial markets fell on Thursday as investors worried about democratic backsliding, before rebounding on Friday.
“We are under attack,” Ozel said in a video message shared on X as security forces entered the building. After the police intervention, he emerged and said the CHP would from then on be “on the streets, in the squares, marching towards power.”
Protest at parliament
Ozel then led supporters on a march to the Turkish parliament, 6 km away, where he spoke to thousands of people chanting slogans including “Traitor Kemal,” “Son of the palace, Kilicdaroglu,” and “Shoulder-to-shoulder against fascists.”
“Until this struggle frees the party from occupation, our headquarters is here,” Ozel told the crowd before entering the assembly. CHP lawmakers on Saturday elected him as leader of the party’s parliamentary group.
Response from Kilicdaroglu’s team
As he spoke, one television channel showed members of Kilicdaroglu’s team sitting in an office in CHP headquarters, but the reinstated leader was reported to be at home and had not yet made a statement on the situation.
The CHP’s ousted leadership called on its supporters to protest in three locations in Istanbul on Sunday evening.
