Turkish Police Fire Tear Gas and Water Cannons at Protesters After Court Ousts Opposition Leader Özgür Özel

A court ruling triggers chaos

A Turkish appeals court on Thursday overturned the 2023 Republican People's Party (CHP) congress that elected Özgür Özel as leader, citing alleged irregularities and vote-buying. The court annulled the results and reinstated former leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, who had led the party from 2010 to 2023. The CHP has rejected all accusations and announced it will appeal to the Supreme Court. The ruling is the latest in a series of moves against Turkey's oldest political party, which scored a major victory over President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's ruling AKP in the 2024 local elections.

Police storm the party headquarters

Shortly after the court ruling, riot police stormed the CHP headquarters in Ankara using tear gas and rubber bullets. Özel, who had barricaded himself inside, told AFP that officers beat party members before throwing them out. The dramatic scenes marked a sharp escalation in the government's campaign against the opposition, which critics say is an attempt by Erdoğan to install a more pliable opposition leader ahead of future elections.

Protests erupt in Izmir

Özel called a lunchtime rally on Tuesday at Cumhuriyet Square in Izmir, his home region. Before the demonstration began, the governorate ordered the square closed and deployed a large contingent of riot police with water cannon trucks. As flag-waving crowds gathered, police used water cannons and tear gas to disperse them. Two people were detained, according to the Anka agency. Organizers estimated more than a thousand people participated, chanting slogans like "Side by side against fascism" and "We will win by fighting."

In these streets I have seen sadness on some days, hope on others, excitement and enthusiasm — but today I see for the first time a great anger!

Özel addressed the crowd from the top of a bus after demonstrators moved to a nearby square. He directly challenged Kılıçdaroğlu to hold a party congress "immediately" so members could choose their leader, proposing a primary "within a week or two" of the Eid al-Fitr holiday.

A 'traitor' reinstated

Many protesters branded Kılıçdaroğlu a traitor, with some calling him "Tayyip Kemal" — a reference to Erdoğan. Under Kılıçdaroğlu's previous leadership, the CHP regularly lost elections to Erdoğan and the AKP. Under Özel, the party won the 2024 local elections and had been rising in the polls. After the imprisonment of Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu, who was expected to be a presidential candidate, Özel called for nationwide protests — a move many believe Kılıçdaroğlu would never have dared to make.

The issue is about stopping a party that is on the march toward ultimate power.

Wider crackdown on opposition

The tensions in Izmir follow the detention of other opposition figures on Tuesday morning, including Mustafa Güney, the CHP mayor of the Güzelbahçe district in Izmir and an Özel ally. Police searched the local municipal administration headquarters as part of an investigation into alleged irregularities in the construction sector. Güney's wife and the head of the local Building Department were also arrested. The CHP, a secular party founded in 1923 by Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, has long denounced what it calls a politically motivated campaign against it. Since the 2024 local election victory, several party members have been arrested in investigations related to "terrorism" and "corruption." Istanbul's ousted mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu has been behind bars since March of last year.