The Turkish authorities on Sunday ordered the eviction of staff in the Ankara headquarters of the opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) after a court ordered the ouster of CHP leader Özgür Özel from office.
The move implemented Thursday's court ruling removing Özel and temporarily replacing him with former party leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu.
Özel had refused to leave the building and barricaded himself, along with CHP parliamentary deputies, at party headquarters.
Images showed a special police unit deployed outside the CHP headquarters and barriers erected by them.
On Thursday, an Ankara court declared invalid Özel's election as CHP head at a 2023 party conference due to what it said were irregularities and removed him from office.
Kılıçdaroğlu, 77, headed the party for more than 10 years, losing to President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in presidential elections three years ago and subsequently to Özel in party elections.
Observers see a political motive behind the court ruling, which is regarded as a severe blow to the CHP, Turkey's oldest political party. Erdoğan's government stresses that the courts are independent.
The CHP has lodged an appeal against Thursday's ruling with Turkey's Supreme Court. Legal experts believe it could take more than a year for the court to make a final decision.
