Turkey’s main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) faced its deepest internal crisis in years after police entered the party’s headquarters in Ankara following a court decision annulling the 2023 party congress and restoring former chairman Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu.
Tensions escalated after lawyers representing Kılıçdaroğlu and lawmakers aligned with him arrived at the CHP headquarters demanding talks with the current leadership under Özgür Özel.
The building’s gates were locked as riot police surrounded the compound. Later, police officers broke chains at the main entrances and entered the headquarters after instructions from the Ankara Governor’s Office to enforce the evacuation order.
According to Turkish media reports, tear gas was used inside the building as officers moved toward the 12th floor, where CHP leader Özgür Özel was meeting lawmakers and Istanbul CHP chief Özgür Çelik.
Özel was formally served an enforcement notice linked to the ruling of Ankara’s 36th Civil Chamber ordering the evacuation of the headquarters. In a dramatic moment, he reportedly tore up the document before leaving the building.
“Everyone is doing what suits them,” Özel told supporters gathered outside the headquarters. “We are leaving to take back our home in a way that no one will dare touch again.”
Özel later marched with lawmakers and supporters from party headquarters to the Turkish parliament, declaring that CHP’s political struggle would continue regardless of physical headquarters.
“CHP was founded in tents on battlefields,” Özel said. “What matters is not the building, but the will to struggle.”
He later announced that the party’s “new headquarters” would temporarily operate from parliament.
Former CHP leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, through his adviser Atakan Sönmez, said he was saddened by the clashes and planned to visit the headquarters after the Eid holiday.
The political crisis triggered divisions inside the opposition camp. CHP provincial mayors publicly backed Özel, while Ankara Mayor Mansur Yavaş called for a new party congress within 45 days to resolve the dispute.
Several people were injured during the standoff. CHP Isparta provincial chairman Hasan Karaca reportedly broke his leg while attempting to enter the building, while CHP lawmaker Süleyman Bülbül was hospitalized after exposure to tear gas.
The Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office launched an investigation into the incidents, including allegations of resisting police, violating protest laws and intentional injury.
The CHP, founded by modern Turkey’s founder Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, remains the country’s largest opposition force and has intensified pressure on President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s government ahead of possible early elections.