Riot police in Turkiye fired tear gas and water cannon on Tuesday to break up a rally called by ousted opposition leader Ozgur Ozel, days after a court dismissed him from office. The protest took place in the city of Izmir, two days after riot police stormed the main opposition CHP headquarters in Ankara, firing tear gas and beating party members before ejecting them.
Court Ruling Sparks Chaos
The dramatic actions followed a shock court ruling on Thursday that overturned a 2023 party primary that elected Ozel. This is the latest in a series of moves against the CHP, Turkiye's oldest political party, which scored a major victory over President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's ruling AKP in the 2024 local elections and has been rising in polls. Since the ruling, the party has been in disarray.
Ozel called the Izmir rally for midday as Turkiye prepared for the four-day Eid Al-Fitr holiday starting Wednesday. Ahead of the rally, the governorate ordered the closure of Cumhuriyet Square in central Izmir, deploying a large number of riot police with water cannon trucks who tried to break up the flag-waving crowd, according to Turkish media. Protesters chanted, 'President Ozgur, free Turkiye!' in scenes broadcast live on television.
Call for Party Congress
Ozel addressed a large crowd waving Turkish flags at a nearby square and called for a party congress after the holiday, appealing to Kemal Kilicdaroglu, who was reinstated by the court as CHP leader. 'We should hold a party congress immediately,' Ozel said. 'This is a matter between the people and Tayyip Erdogan... The issue is about stopping a party that is on the march toward ultimate power.'
Ozel and his leadership were ousted following a court case concerning allegations of vote-buying in the 2023 primary. The case was dismissed in October for lack of substance, but the ruling was overturned on appeal. The assault on the CHP escalated with the jailing of Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu, Erdogan's main political rival and the party's presidential candidate, on charges widely seen as political.
'Erdogan has lost all restraint,' Ozel told AFP late Sunday. 'Just as he imprisoned the presidential candidate who could defeat him, he is now effectively shutting down the political party that could defeat him. Turkiye has ceased to be a modern democratic republic and has turned into a one-man regime.'
