Turkey's opposition reels as Ozel allies resign to force vote

Turkey’s main opposition party was pushed deeper into crisis as 28 of 57 assembly members loyal to Özgür Özel resigned, a move his camp said should force an extraordinary congress within 45 days. The break exposed a party already split between rival claims of legitimacy and now fighting over whether its own governing structure can still function under court pressure.

The resignations came after a court-appointed chairman sought the expulsion of nine assembly members aligned with Özel. His allies framed the walkout as a procedural reset, one they hope will restore authority to leaders chosen by delegates rather than by judges. The opposing camp, centered on Kemal Kilicdaroglu, has treated the court rulings as a mandate to reclaim control of the Republican People's Party, the CHP.

The battle has been building for months. Reuters reported on June 9 that the party was holding dueling meetings, with Özel urging lawmakers to resist and Kilicdaroglu telling a rival gathering that he would “cleanse the party of dirt.” That confrontation followed a Turkish court decision last month annulling the CHP congress held on November 4-5, 2023, when Özel defeated Kilicdaroglu and took over the party.

Human Rights Watch said the May 21 court ruling removed Özel and the entire CHP leadership. The rights group warned that the decision was part of a wider assault on civil and political rights, underscoring how a party dispute had turned into a test of Turkey’s democratic space.

The stakes reach far beyond party procedure. The CHP won 37.8% of the vote in the March 31, 2024 local elections, ahead of the Justice and Development Party’s 35.5%, its first national first-place finish in decades and a result that raised hopes it could mount a serious challenge to Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Now that momentum is at risk.

The leadership fight has also pulled in figures widely viewed as possible presidential contenders, including Ankara Mayor Mansur Yavas and jailed Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu. If the CHP stays divided, Erdogan stands to benefit from the collapse of the opposition’s strongest national counterweight. What happens next, and whether the resignations are accepted as enough to compel a new congress, may determine whether the party emerges reorganized or more fractured before the next national showdown.