Riot police in Turkey have fired teargas and water cannon to break up a rally called by the ousted opposition leader Özgür Özel days after a court dismissed him from office.
Police Crackdown in İzmir
On Tuesday, police used water cannon and teargas to disperse supporters of Turkey’s main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) in İzmir. The rally was called by Özel, who was removed as CHP leader by a court ruling last Thursday. The court overturned a 2023 party primary that elected Özel, citing allegations of vote-buying, though an earlier court had thrown out the case for lack of substance.
Thousands of demonstrators gathered in İzmir, waving flags and chanting “President Özgür, free Turkey!” as Özel addressed the crowd from the top of a bus. He urged his defeated rival, Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, to agree to an immediate party congress so members could choose their leader. “Bring whoever you want as a delegate and let’s compete,” Özel said, challenging Kılıçdaroğlu to hold a primary within a week or two after the Eid al-Fitr holiday.
Political Turmoil
The court ruling has thrown the CHP into chaos. The party, Turkey’s oldest, had been rising in the polls after winning local elections in 2024 against President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s ruling AKP. Özel described the ousting as not an internal party matter but a struggle between the people and Erdoğan. “The issue is about stopping a party that is on the march towards ultimate power,” he said.
Earlier, on Sunday, riot police had battered their way into the CHP headquarters in Ankara, firing teargas and beating party members before throwing them out, according to Özel. The assault on the CHP began with the jailing of Istanbul mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu, Erdoğan’s main political rival, on charges widely seen as political.
Özel said: “Erdoğan has lost all restraint. Just as he imprisoned the presidential candidate who could defeat him, he is now effectively shutting down the political party that could defeat him. Turkey has ceased to be a modern democratic republic and has turned into a one-man regime.”
The rally took place as Turkey prepared for the four-day Eid al-Fitr holiday. Ahead of the event, the governorate ordered the closure of İzmir’s central Cumhuriyet Square and deployed a large police presence with water cannon trucks.
