Turkish police stormed the headquarters of the opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) in Ankara on Sunday afternoon, using tear gas to force ousted party leader Özgür Özel and his supporters out of the building.
Özel and CHP parliamentary deputies backing him had barricaded themselves inside the building following a court order temporarily replacing him with former party leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu.
Images broadcast by Halk TV showed officers breaking through barricades amid clouds of smoke. Police also used rubber bullets to carry out the eviction ordered by the governor's office in Ankara.
Özel initially remained barricaded in his office on the 12th floor, but then left the building to the applause of his supporters.
“From now on, the Republican People’s Party CHP is on the streets, in the squares, and on its way to power,” Özel said. He then marched to the parliament building, surrounded by CHP lawmakers and supporters.
On Thursday, an Ankara court declared Özel's election as CHP head at a 2023 party conference invalid, citing irregularities, and removed him from office.
The case, brought by a former party member, centres on allegations that delegates had been bribed to vote for Özel. It was initially thrown out in October but subsequently reopened.
The CHP leadership has rejected the allegations and has lodged an appeal with the Supreme Court, arguing that the electoral commission, and not a court, should rule on the matter.
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.
His reappointment has led to protests in Ankara and other cities, as he has lost support among CHP membership since his defeat in the presidential 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.
Some observers see Thursday's court ruling as unconstitutional, and Kılıçdaroğlu has been slammed as a "traitor" by some CHP supporters.
Erdoğan has not commented on the court ruling and subsequent events but has characterized the legal proceedings as an internal CHP conflict.
Özel, 51, led the CHP to success in the 2024 municipal elections. The party won most of the mayoral elections, in a surprise to observers.
Since then, many CHP mayors have been arrested on allegations of terrorism and corruption, including former Istanbul mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu, who is seen as a potential challenger to Erdoğan in the 2028 presidential elections. His arrest sparked protests.
The European Union has been critical of events in Turkey, which remains a candidate for membership, although the process has been deadlocked for years.
Observers see a growing authoritarian tendency in the country, which nevertheless benefits from its strategic location at a time of conflict in the Middle East and the fact that it has the second-largest army in NATO after the United States.
