Turkish Riot Police Storm Main Opposition Party Headquarters After Court Ousts Leadership

Turkish riot police forced their way into the headquarters of the country's main opposition party on Sunday, just days after a court dismissed its leadership. Clouds of tear gas billowed outside the Republican People's Party (CHP) building in Ankara, where party members had blocked the entrances with a makeshift barricade.

Footage from the scene showed people inside shouting and throwing objects toward the entrance. Police were also sprayed with water hoses during the operation. The dramatic raid followed a Thursday appeal court decision that declared CHP leader Özgür Özel's election null and void – a move widely seen as further cementing President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's grip on power.

Özel had vowed to defy the ruling. The court decided that he should be replaced by Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, a 77-year-old party veteran who lost to Erdoğan in the 2023 presidential election. Turkish media reported that Kılıçdaroğlu's representatives had requested police carry out "necessary procedures" to hand over the headquarters to the new leadership, claiming they had so far been barred from entering the building. The city's governor then instructed police to "implement the court decision," according to a statement from his office.

"We are under attack," Özel said in a video message shared on X as security forces sought entry to the building. Clashes were also reported inside between his supporters and those of Kılıçdaroğlu. Özel later emerged from the premises, telling crowds gathered outside: "They tried to uproot and throw us out – to where?" He then announced that the party would from now on be "in the streets or in the squares, marching towards power." He then set off toward the Turkish parliament, leading hundreds of supporters through the streets of Ankara.

The court's decision overturned a 2025 ruling by a lower court that had thrown out allegations of vote buying in the party election that made Özel leader. The new ruling also means the party's entire executive is replaced, and it is believed that its decisions are no longer recognized.

Human Rights Watch warned on Saturday that Erdoğan's government was undermining Turkish democracy with what it called "abusive tactics" against the CHP. Erdoğan has led Turkey since 2003, first as prime minister and then as president. Özel has accused the president's AK party of pursuing a strategy to "eliminate its rivals." The 72-year-old leader can only run for president again if he calls early elections before 2028 or changes the constitution.

His Justice Minister, Akın Gürlek, said earlier this week that the appeal court ruling "reinforces our citizens' trust in democracy." Gürlek previously served as the chief prosecutor in Istanbul, where he spearheaded investigations targeting the opposition – including the city's highly popular mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu, who is seen as Erdoğan's main political rival. İmamoğlu has been in jail for more than a year on corruption charges.

For now, the CHP's headquarters in Ankara is under new management – whether its former occupants accept that or not. And Özel is marching toward parliament, with hundreds behind him, promising that the street, not the courthouse, will have the final word.

Written by Freya Stensrud