Özgür Özel founds a new party after his ouster as CHP leader

Trigger: Court ruling and summer recess

The background to the development is a years-long power struggle within the CHP, which culminated in a court ruling at the end of May. The court annulled the CHP's 2023 party congress and removed Özel as chairman. His predecessor, Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, was installed as party leader on an interim basis. Özel had criticized the move as politically motivated and accused the government of Recep Tayyip Erdoğan of exerting influence over the judges.

Observers expect that around 80 of the CHP's 135 MPs could switch with their mandates to Özel's new party. Should this number be reached, the new formation would, as things stand, immediately become the largest opposition party in the Turkish parliament. Özel himself expressed hope for strong support for his project and announced: "Nun will er einen neuen Weg beschreiten".

Power shift in parliament

Özel's ouster triggered weeks of controversy. His camp organized protest rallies in several cities. Kılıçdaroğlu, too, took tough measures after being reinstated as party leader, initiating numerous disciplinary proceedings against leading party members. Özel had taken over the CHP in 2023 in an internal party vote against Kılıçdaroğlu, thereby ending his tenure.

The CHP has been under considerable pressure since its success in the 2024 local elections, when it won majorities in many large Turkish cities, including Istanbul. Subsequently, state measures against the party and its local mandate-holders escalated. According to available figures, more than 25 elected CHP mayors are in prison; some have also been removed from office. President Erdoğan described the conflict between Özel and the CHP leadership as an internal party matter: "The matter is an intra-party conflict."

Broader context: Pressure on the opposition

Among the jailed local politicians is Ekrem İmamoğlu, the mayor of Istanbul and one of Erdoğan's most prominent political rivals. İmamoğlu was arrested in March of the previous year on charges including corruption. His detention triggered mass protests. Özel had politically supported İmamoğlu, which further deepened the fault lines within the CHP.

The dynamic carries additional weight given the role of Kılıçdaroğlu. Observers describe him as a politically weak actor and see in him an opponent Erdoğan would prefer in an election. This assessment partly explains the sharpness of the internal party conflict: Özel and his camp consider Kılıçdaroğlu not up to the task of leading the CHP as extra-parliamentary opposition against Erdoğan.

With regard to the summer schedule, it remains open how quickly the new formation will be formally registered and which mandate-holders will actually switch. It also remains to be seen whether, after the summer recess, the appeals court will hear Özel's challenge after all, and what disciplinary steps Kılıçdaroğlu will pursue in the meantime. Initial personnel decisions and programmatic cornerstones are expected in the coming weeks.