Water Cannon and Pepper Spray: Turkish Police Block Ousted Opposition Leader's Rally in Izmir

Riot police in Turkey used water cannon on Tuesday to prevent people from gathering to hear a speech by the deposed leader of the country's main opposition party. Özgür Özel, who was removed from his post as head of the Republican People's Party (CHP) by a court order on Thursday, had intended to address supporters in the western city of Izmir. Those heading to Cumhuriyet Square found their way blocked by steel barriers and riot police.

Pro-opposition broadcaster Halk TV showed many in the largely middle-aged crowd being soaked by water cannon as they tried to reach the square. Local media also reported that police deployed pepper spray. The political crisis was sparked last week when an appeals court in Ankara overturned a 2023 party congress vote that had appointed Özel as CHP leader. The court decision replaced him with his predecessor, 77-year-old Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, sparking outrage among party supporters.

Özel, 51, succeeded Kılıçdaroğlu after 13 years of what many considered mostly ineffective opposition to President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. On Tuesday, Özel called on Kılıçdaroğlu to hold another party leadership vote. He urged him not to divide the party or stop their march to power, and proposed asking the party's 2 million members to choose their leader through an immediate congress.

The court case, which centered on alleged irregularities in the congress vote, is seen by the president's critics as the latest legal attack on the CHP, during which waves of elected officials and party members have been imprisoned. Following the court ruling, Özel and his supporters barricaded themselves inside the CHP headquarters in Ankara. Police stormed the building on Sunday, firing plastic pellets and pepper spray in a violent end to the standoff.

Özel, who has vowed to take the struggle to the streets, said on arriving in Izmir that he would "go wherever the people are waiting." He later arrived at Cumhuriyet Square before walking to another nearby square where he delivered a speech to thousands of cheering supporters. The confrontation in Izmir, Turkey's third-largest city and traditionally a CHP stronghold, came a day ahead of the official Eid al-Adha holiday, although many people had also taken Monday and Tuesday off work.

In a televised Eid message, Erdoğan said he hoped the vacation would be "an occasion for hearts to soften, for those who are estranged to reconcile, for grievances to be resolved."

The CHP is now level with the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) in most recent opinion polls. Although the next election is not due until 2028, many expect Erdoğan to push for early elections. Özel delivered a serious blow to the AKP in the 2024 municipal elections, strengthening the opposition's grip on key cities it had won five years earlier, including Istanbul and Ankara. The CHP mayor of Istanbul, Ekrem İmamoğlu, emerged as the likeliest challenger to Erdoğan – who has ruled Turkey since 2003 – in the next presidential poll. However, İmamoğlu has been imprisoned since March last year as he faces several criminal cases that could see him sentenced to decades behind bars.

Many observers have said the legal cases against the CHP, mostly centered on corruption allegations, are aimed at neutralizing the party. The government insists that Turkey's courts are impartial and act independently of political pressure.

For now, water cannon have replaced the usual holiday calm in Izmir. A deposed opposition leader is speaking from a square he was not supposed to reach. And the president, in his holiday message, spoke of softening hearts and reconciling grievances. On the streets of Turkey's third-largest city, that message sounded very far away.

Written by Martina Kirchner