Turkey Opposition Crisis: Police Storm CHP Headquarters as Court-Backed Ouster Sparks Nationwide Protests

Breaking — Europe

ANKARA / ISTANBUL — May 26, 2026

Turkish police violently entered the headquarters of Turkey’s main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) in Ankara on Saturday, forcibly removing ousted leader Özgür Özel and his supporters after a court ordered the party leadership transferred to a rival faction — a move opponents are calling an illegal state takeover of a democratic institution.

The raid comes as Turkey faces its deepest political crisis in years, with CHP mobilisation committees reporting protests in more than 30 cities across the country and international monitors warning the court intervention risks undermining democratic norms in a NATO member state.

Television footage showed officers in riot gear dragging Özel from the CHP’s Ankara headquarters in the early hours of Saturday morning. The party’s Çankaya district office was also raided, with police removing documents and installing new locks. A second raid hit a CHP-run municipality in southern Turkey on Sunday, raising fears of a broader crackdown on opposition-held local government.

The crisis stems from a power struggle within CHP that began when Özel defeated long-time leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu in internal elections last year. A Ankara court subsequently ruled the leadership transfer was improper and ordered the party’s administration returned to a Kılıçdaroğlu-aligned faction — a decision Özel’s team insists was manufactured under pressure from President Erdoğan’s government.

“They are not just attacking CHP — they are attacking the right of the Turkish people to be represented by the party they chose. We will resist this with everything we have.” — Özgür Özel, speaking after being evicted from headquarters

The political crisis has placed Turkey’s Western allies in an uncomfortable position. The United States has yet to issue a formal statement, but EU officials said foreign ministers would raise concerns at a meeting scheduled for next week. A State Department spokesperson said Washington was “closely monitoring developments and expect[ed] Turkish authorities to uphold the rule of law.”

CHP, which governs Turkey’s largest cities including Istanbul and Ankara, has called on its mobilisation network to hold continuous protests outside police stations and party offices across the country. Videos shared on social media showed large crowds gathering in Istanbul’s Kadıköy district, Ankara’s Kızılay square, and Izmir’s Konak square on Saturday night.

The timing is especially sensitive: Turkey is navigating ongoing negotiations over its relationship with the European Union, its role in NATO’s eastern flank, and a sputtering economy that has seen inflation rise sharply in recent months. Observers warn the crisis could freeze major policy decisions and destabilise local governments that serve millions of citizens.

International monitors have called for an independent review of the court proceedings that led to the leadership ruling. A statement from the OSCE’s Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights said it was “concerned by reports that the judicial process was not independent of political influence” and would assess whether the intervention violated Turkish obligations under international human rights law.

For now, Turkey’s opposition is mobilising fast. Özel has called for a mass rally in Ankara on Monday and said CHP would take the fight to every level of the judiciary and internationally. “They can change the locks on our doors,” he said. “They cannot change the will of 13 million voters.”

— Anya Petrova, Europe Correspondent