Turkish opposition leader Ozgur Ozel could launch new party by August
Ozgur Ozel’s remarks on a potential new party came as the legal crackdown on the main opposition widened further this week with the arrest and suspension of the mayor of Cankaya, one of the party’s most secure and symbolically important strongholds in the heart of Ankara.
ANKARA — Turkish opposition leader Ozgur Ozel, who was removed by a court last May, said Wednesday that he could establish a political party by early August, depending on the outcome of two legal efforts aimed at restoring his control of the Republican People’s Party (CHP).
In May, an Ankara appeals court annulled the CHP’s 2023 leadership congress after it elected Ozel as chairman, citing alleged vote rigging. The order effectively reinstated the party’s former leader, Kemal Kilicdaroglu. Government critics described the ruling as politically motivated and part of a broader legal crackdown intended to weaken the country’s main opposition party after its historic success in the March 2024 local elections.
Details: The possibility of establishing a new party has gained traction after Kilicdaroglu refused to convene an extraordinary congress that would likely bring Ozel and his team back into the party's leadership.
“A formal step could be taken toward the end of July or the beginning of August,” Ozel told pro-opposition Sozcu TV.
