A Turkish court ruling reinstating former CHP leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu triggered fresh unrest on Sunday (24 May), as riot police stormed the opposition party’s Ankara headquarters amid an escalating political crisis that critics say threatens democratic norms in Türkiye.
Riot police forced their way into the Ankara headquarters of the Republican People’s Party (CHP), Türkiye’s main opposition party, days after a court ruling that effectively removed current chairman Özgür Özel and reinstated former leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu.
Police entered the CHP headquarters on Sunday after the Ankara governor’s office ordered the evacuation of CHP officials and supporters who had barricaded themselves inside following the court decision.
Televised footage showed plumes of tear gas filling parts of the building as people inside shouted defiant slogans and hurled objects while police dismantled makeshift barricades.
No serious injuries were reported following the clashes.
The court case was filed by CHP delegates and former Hatay Mayor, Lütfü Savaş, who challenged the legitimacy of the party’s 38th Ordinary Congress held in November 2023. They argued that alleged violations undermined the legitimacy of the outcome of the vote, which saw Özel become party chairman. The plaintiffs claimed irregularities such as vote buying, the offering of political favours and procedural violations took place during the congress process.
CHP officials have consistently rejected the accusations, both in and out of court.
The court declared the 2023 CHP congress legally invalid under the principle of "absolute nullity," a legal doctrine in Turkish law used for acts considered fundamentally unlawful or procedurally defective. This meant the pre-congress party administration was automatically restored and will remain in place until another congress is organised and held.
Kılıçdaroğlu's reinstatement has effectively reopened a CHP leadership battle. Prior to the 2023 assembly, he had led the CHP for more than a decade. In that same year, he lost the presidential election to current Turkish President, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.
Özel denounced the court ruling as a “judicial coup”, accusing authorities of using the courts to seize control of the party.
“We are under attack,” he said in a social media post as police entered the building on Sunday.
Government officials have consistently rejected accusations of political interference in the judiciary, insisting that Turkish courts operate independently. On Monday, Ömer Çelik, the spokesperson for the ruling AK Party, said that the AKP had no involvement in the escalating crisis within the CHP. "We are not involved in any part of this issue," he said. "The conflict is internal to the CHP."
After leaving the party headquarters, Özel and a group of supporters marched to the Turkish parliament building, where thousands gathered to chant slogans against both the government and Kılıçdaroğlu.
He later vowed that the CHP would remain “on the streets, in the squares, marching towards power”.
On Saturday, the CHP’s parliamentary bloc voted to keep Özel as its leader in parliament, underscoring the growing split between the party’s elected representatives and its court-mandated leadership structure.
The ruling also drew criticism from opposition parties and international observers.
The pro-Kurdish DEM Party, the third-largest group in parliament, described the police operation at CHP headquarters as “a disgrace to democracy”, while smaller opposition parties also condemned the ruling as anti-democratic.
The European Union raised concerns over the rule of law, judicial independence and democratic pluralism in Türkiye, saying opposition parties must be able to operate freely without fear of repression.
Türkiye's Justice Minister Akın Gürlek said the ruling demonstrated that “democracy’s self-correcting mechanisms” and the rule of law were functioning properly.
In recent years, hundreds of CHP members and elected officials have faced detention, arrest or investigation on corruption and other charges, all of which the party denies.
The situation escalated following the arrest in March 2025 of Istanbul Mayor and CHP heavyweight, Ekrem İmamoğlu, widely seen as Erdoğan’s strongest political rival.
İmamoğlu was jailed pending trial on charges ranging from corruption to terrorism-related offences, allegations he strongly denies.
His arrest triggered Türkiye’s largest anti-government protests in more than a decade and sparked a sharp sell-off in financial markets.
Opposition parties, rights groups and several European leaders have accused Erdoğan’s government of using the judiciary to silence political opponents ahead of the next presidential election, scheduled for 2028.
The Turkish government denies the accusations and insists the judiciary operates independently of political influence.
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