Republican People's Party (CHP) member oof parliament Mahmut Tanal stands with a water hose in his hand to prevent supporters of former party leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu from entering the party headquarters in Ankara, on 24 May, 2026. (Credit: Adem Altan/AFP)
Turkish riot police fired tear gas and forced their way into the main opposition party's headquarters to evict its ousted leadership on Sunday, a Reuters witness said, further inflaming a political crisis.
Clouds of tear gas billowed within the Republican People's Party (CHP) building while those inside shouted and threw objects at the entrance as police broke through a makeshift barricade. A Turkish court had ousted CHP leader Ozgur Ozel on Thursday, annulling the results of the CHP congress where he was elected in 2023, citing irregularities. On Sunday, Ankara's governor ordered the eviction of those inside the headquarters.
The court reinstated in Ozel's place former CHP chairman Kemal Kilicdaroglu, who lost to President Tayyip Erdogan in a national election that year. The ousted CHP leadership under Ozel has condemned the court ruling as a "judicial coup" and Ozel promised to fight it through legal appeals and to remain "day and night" in the party's Ankara headquarters.
