Turkish police raided the headquarters of the Republican People's Party.

Turkish riot police used tear gas and stormed the headquarters of the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) in Ankara on May 24, attempting to force the ousted leadership out of the building, amid escalating political crisis involving the party.

Turkish police raided the headquarters of the Republican People's Party. Photo: AP

According to Reuters, security forces removed temporary barricades inside the CHP headquarters. Tear gas filled the area as those inside chanted slogans and threw objects toward the entrance. There was no information yet on casualties in the incident.

Previously, a Turkish court ruled to annul the results of the 2023 CHP congress, citing irregularities in the internal election process. The ruling simultaneously dismissed CHP chairman Ozgur Ozel and reinstated Kemal Kilicdaroglu – the former party leader who lost to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in the 2023 election – to his leadership position. Following a request from the Ankara provincial government to enforce the court's decision, police launched an operation to clear the party headquarters.

In a message posted on social media platform X, Ozgur Ozel accused the CHP of being "under attack," and declared that the party would continue its fight through legal means and street political activism. After leaving the headquarters, he led a march of about 6 kilometers to the Turkish Parliament building, where thousands of people had gathered to protest.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Photo: AP

The ousted CHP leadership criticized the court ruling as a "judicial coup." Meanwhile, Turkish officials rejected accusations that the government used the judicial system to pressure the opposition, asserting that the judiciary operates independently.

Turkish state media reported that police have arrested 13 people in connection with an investigation into the 2023 CHP congress. These individuals are accused of violating laws on political parties, accepting bribes, and laundering illicit assets. Analysts believe this new development could escalate debate about the state of democracy in Türkiye and raise the possibility of early elections before the scheduled date of 2028.

Le Ha.

Source: Reuters, AP

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