Large crowds took to the streets to protest a ruling by a court controlled by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's Justice and Development Party (AKP) removing leader of Turkey's main opposition party, the CHP.
The ousted party leader, Özgür Özel, called for a demonstration in front of the party headquarters in Ankara. Hundreds of people chanted the slogan, "There is no salvation alone – it's all together or no one," as seen in television footage. The participants waved Turkish flags and banners of the CHP and other supporting parties.
Özel addressed the crowd, saying that today was not about the CHP, but about defending democracy, the multi-party system and the people's right to decide for themselves.
A court in Ankara on Thursday ordered the removal of Özel and the party leadership. The court ruled that the 2023 party congress, in which Özel was elected chairman, was invalid. It also ordered the provisional reinstatement of the CHP's former chairman, Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, and the previous leadership.
According to media reports, Kilicdaroglu has already begun his work as interim party leader.
In defiance of the court, Özel set off for the party's headquarters in Ankara on Thursday evening, together with other CHP members, after the ruling removing him from the party leadership became known. He has not left since.
Discussions are taking place there, but the opposition politician is also receiving solidarity visits from other parties, the CHP wrote on X.
Erdoğan and the AKP have governed Turkey since 2003, though his rule has recently been marked by increasing authoritarianism.
