Ozel resigns from CHP, to launch new opposition party

Ousted Turkish opposition leader Ozgur Ozel announced on Tuesday, July 21, 2026, that he will resign from the Republican People's Party (CHP) and form a new political party, a move that threatens to split the country's main opposition bloc and could reshape the political landscape ahead of the next elections.

Ozel made the announcement in a speech to lawmakers in parliament in Ankara, stating that he and his supporters were embarking on a new kind of opposition to challenge President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. His decision follows a court ruling in May that annulled the CHP's 2023 party congress, where Ozel was elected chairman, and reinstated the party's former leader, Kemal Kilicdaroglu, as interim chairman. Ozel said he proceeded with forming a new party after an appeals court went on summer recess without ruling on his legal challenge to the May decision.

The court's action, which cited alleged procedural irregularities, has been condemned by Ozel and his allies as a politically motivated effort to weaken the opposition. Since returning to the CHP leadership, Kilicdaroglu has launched disciplinary proceedings against several senior figures aligned with Ozel, deepening internal...