Tear gas outside opposition headquarters. Riot police smashing through barricades.
Supporters hurling objects from inside the building.
For many Turks watching on Sunday, it looked less like a party dispute — and more like a political showdown spilling into the streets of Ankara.
Police stormed the headquarters of Turkey’s main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) after a court decision stripped party leader Özgür Özel of his position.
And reinstated veteran politician Kemal Kilicdaroğlu. Özel refused to step aside.
“We are under attack,” he declared in a video posted online as officers forced their way into the building.
Moments later, clouds of tear gas drifted across the scene while rival CHP factions reportedly clashed inside.
So what sparked the chaos? Earlier this week, an appeal court voided Özel’s election as party leader, citing allegations linked to internal voting procedures.
The ruling effectively handed control back to Kilicdaroğlu.
The longtime opposition figure defeated by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in the 2023 election.
Opposition Tensions Rise
Critics say the timing is impossible to ignore.
Human Rights Watch accused Erdoğan’s government of using “abusive tactics” to weaken the opposition.
Özel warned the ruling party was trying to “eliminate its rivals.”
Justice Minister Akin Gürlek defended the decision, insisting it would strengthen “trust in democracy.”
But outside CHP headquarters, trust was clearly in short supply.
As Özel climbed atop a police water cannon vehicle and waved to supporters, he promised the battle was only beginning.
“From now,” he said, “we will be in the streets.”
And in modern Turkey, that’s rarely a quiet promise.
