Turkiye's ousted opposition leader Ozgur Ozel on Wednesday ruled out any plans to leave the crisis-hit Republican People's Party (CHP) and form a new political faction, urging fellow members to remain united, Turkish media reported.
Background of the Crisis
The CHP, Turkiye's oldest political party, has been severely shaken by a May 21 court ruling that overturned a 2023 party primary which elected Ozel as leader. The decision reinstated his defeated rival, Kemal Kilicdaroglu, sparking turmoil within the party. Three days later, riot police forcibly entered the CHP's Ankara headquarters, firing tear gas and beating party members before evicting them, Ozel told AFP on Sunday evening.
Ozel's Stance
Despite the escalating crisis, Ozel moved quickly to dismiss rumors that he might leave the party to establish a new political faction. “We have no intention of forming a new party,” he told journalists after attending prayers in Manisa near the western resort of Izmir, on the first day of the Eid Al-Fitr holiday, as reported by the BirGun newspaper. “There are those who say ‘we should resign’, but no one should leave the party or resign. We will resolve this issue,” he said, reiterating calls for a leadership primary “as soon as possible.”
Ozel also appealed directly to Kilicdaroglu: “We hope Kilicdaroglu will not attempt to lead a party he was not democratically elected to head. I have a request for him: let the leader be determined by the decision of our two million members.”
Political Implications
Critics have denounced the court decision as the latest brazen attempt to remove President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's main political rivals ahead of elections, which must be held by May 2028. Pressure on the CHP has intensified since its sweeping local election victory over Erdogan's AK Party in 2024, with more than a dozen of its mayors arrested on charges ranging from graft to terror ties. The March 2025 arrest and jailing of Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu — the CHP's presidential candidate and Erdogan's most powerful political rival — sparked Turkiye's worst street unrest in over a decade, with the party leading mass protests that thrust Ozel into the limelight. Since then, the party has risen in the polls while simultaneously facing a bewildering array of lawsuits largely seen as politically motivated.
