Scenes of acute tension unfolded on Sunday at the headquarters of Turkey's main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) in Ankara, after riot police stormed the building to enforce a court order reinstating former party chairman Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu and removing current leader Özgür Özel. Police fired tear gas and rubber bullets at a crowd of party supporters and officials gathered outside the gates, bringing a violent end to a standoff that had been going on for several hours.
A Turkish appeals court on Thursday annulled the results of a CHP congress at which Özel was elected in 2023, citing unspecified irregularities, and reinstated Kılıçdaroğlu, who lost to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in national elections that year. The ousted CHP leadership under Özgür Özel condemned the ruling as a "judicial coup" and Özel promised to fight it through legal appeals, vowing to remain in the party's Ankara headquarters.
Clouds of tear gas billowed within the CHP building while those inside shouted and threw objects at the entrance as police broke through a makeshift barricade. The building's entrances had been locked, with objects and water thrown between the two rival groups gathered outside. Kılıçdaroğlu's lawyer, Celal Celik, sent a formal request to Ankara police to assist in vacating the building, and the Ankara Governor's office released a statement approving the request.
CHP Genel Merkezi’ne biber gazlı müdahalede bulunuldu.
— Murat AĞIREL (@muratagirel) May 24, 2026
“Baba ocağı” denilen yer; biber gazı, kalkanlar ve plastik mermiler eşliğinde polisin girdiği bir yere dönüştürüldü.
103 yıllık, dünyanın en eski partilerinden biri olan Gazi Mustafa Kemal Atatürk’ün kurduğu partiye polisle… pic.twitter.com/iKPWxDLbUJ
Kılıçdaroğlu calls for compliance
Kılıçdaroğlu urged party members and public officials to abide by the court ruling, and warned that those who did not would face consequences. "I ask all Republican People's Party organisations, as well as judicial officers, security personnel and all public officials acting in accordance with the decision of the 36th Civil Chamber of the Ankara Court of Appeal to comply with the provisions of the court ruling," he said. "I also ask that there be no action or conduct that runs counter to organisational culture and discipline. Necessary measures will be taken against those who act contrary to these instructions."
CHP Genel Merkezi önüne yürümek isteyen halka polis saldırısı
— Umut Gazetesi (@Umutgazetesi_4) May 24, 2026
“Mutlak butlan” kararıyla CHP Genel Merkezi önünde başlayan hareketlilik sürerken, polis ablukası genişletildi. CHP Genel Merkezi’ne yürümek isteyen halka polis TOMA’larla saldırdı. pic.twitter.com/b3YtMkbzvG
Ozel refuses to leave
In a video posted to social media, Özel declared he would not vacate the headquarters, describing the situation as an attack on the party. "We are in our home, at CHP headquarters, the seat that is Atatürk's legacy. We are under attack. They were not content with issuing this unlawful decision, they have come to our door. Now they have come with the police. They want to destroy this building and seize it. We will not leave. I do not know how long we can hold out. We have no intention of raising a hand against the police. They can take our bodies, but they cannot take our struggle," he said.
Representatives of the Kılıçdaroğlu camp said that prior consultations had yielded no result and that they had been denied entry to the building.
Imprisoned Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu, who is himself a CHP figure, also weighed in as police entered the headquarters, calling for a political response against those who, in his words, seek to cling to power. "Let us give the answer they deserve to those who are attached to their chair and their power," he wrote on social media.
Sources: AMNA, AP, Reuters, Bloomberg, Arab News
