Turkey's main opposition party in standoff over court-ordered leadership

ANKARA : Members of Turkey's main opposition party were locked in a standoff Sunday outside the party headquarters with most members refusing entry to the new court-ordered leadership.

The standoff at the Republican People's Party, or CHP, has been escalating since Thursday, when an appeals court nullified the November 2023 party congress, where Ozgur Ozel was elected to replace then-chair Kemal Kilicdaroglu.

The ruling suspends Ozel and members of the party's executive board and orders them to be replaced by Kilicdaroglu and others who held party posts before the November 2023 congress. The opposition says the decision was politically motivated to weaken the party as it struggles under waves of legal cases targeting its members and elected officials.

Kilicdaroglu, 77, had left the post following a 13-year tenure as leader, during which the CHP failed to win any national elections. Meanwhile, Ozel, in his first and only election as party leader delivered a decisive blow to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's ruling Justice and Development Party in the 2024 municipal polls.

The next presidential election is due in 2028, but Erdogan can call for an early vote. His main challenger, Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu, a CHP member, has been imprisoned since March last year and is on trial on corruption charges.

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

The vast majority of the party has rallied behind Ozel. He and most of the party having been inside the CHP headquarters in the capital Ankara since Thursday's ruling, with the new administration unable to enter. The rival teams were supposed to meet Sunday afternoon to figure a way out of the impasse.

Local media reported that a crowd showed up outside the office that Ozel claimed were not CHP members but were sent to intimidate. Police presence was steadily growing since morning, and Kilicdaroglu's lawyer, Celal Celik, sent a request to Ankara police to assist in vacating the building. The Ankara Governor's office released a statement approving the request.

Erdogan has ruled Turkey, first as prime minister and then as president, since 2003. His electoral record suffered a setback in 2019, when the CHP seized control of several major cities in local elections. In Istanbul, Imamoglu emerged as a popular and charismatic figure who many felt could successfully topple Erdogan.