Turkey's ousted opposition leader relocates party HQ to parliament

Turkish riot police forcibly entered the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) headquarters on Sunday to remove its ousted leadership. The ousted CHP chairman then marched with supporters to parliament in protest, declaring it the party's new base of operations.

Turkish riot police stormed the headquarters of the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) in Ankara on Sunday, forcibly removing the party's ousted leadership from the premises in a dramatic escalation of an internal power struggle.

Following the raid, the CHP's ousted chairman refused to accept the situation quietly. That same evening, he led a march of supporters to the Turkish parliament, where he declared that the party's headquarters would henceforth operate from within the building — a symbolic act of defiance against those who orchestrated his removal.

The scenes marked a significant flashpoint in Turkey's ongoing political tensions, with the use of riot police against an opposition party's central offices drawing widespread attention. The CHP is Turkey's largest and oldest opposition party, tracing its roots back to the founding of the republic under Mustafa Kemal Atatürk.

The internal conflict within the CHP reflects broader struggles over the direction and leadership of the Turkish opposition at a time when President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's ruling AKP party continues to dominate national politics. Critics of the leadership removal have condemned the intervention as politically motivated, while supporters of the move argue it was a necessary step to reform the party.