Main opposition party splits after years of repression

Ozgur Ozel, ousted as leader of Turkey's main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP), said on Tuesday he was formally resigning from his party to launch a new one, the latest twist in an unprecedented crackdown on President Tayyip Erdogan's opponents.

Ozel said he had been forced to leave the party founded by modern Turkey's founder Mustafa Kemal Ataturk after a court annulled the CHP congress that brought him to power, deepening the country's political crisis.

Here are some details on the crackdown:

WHAT HAS HAPPENED SO FAR?

The crackdown dates back to October 31, 2024, when Ahmet Ozer, the CHP mayor of Istanbul's Esenyurt district, was jailed pending trial over alleged links to the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK). He was released in November 2025, though proceedings remain ongoing.

Since then, hundreds of CHP members and officials have been detained or investigated on corruption and other charges that the party denies.

The crisis escalated in March 2025 with the jailing of Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu, Erdogan's main political rival, triggering Turkey's largest protests in a decade and a sharp market selloff.

Opposition parties, rights groups and some European leaders say the investigations are a politically motivated effort to silence dissent. The government denies this and says the judiciary is independent.

WHO ARE THE KEY FIGURES?

Ozel was elected CHP chairman in a party congress in 2023, replacing Kemal Kilicdaroglu. He has led anti-Erdogan rallies since the arrest of Imamoglu.

The court ruling reinstated Kilicdaroglu, who led the party for 13 years and lost to Erdogan in the 2023 presidential election.

Imamoglu was jailed in March 2025 on charges ranging from graft to espionage and terrorism, which he strongly denies. His university diploma was annulled, rendering him ineligible under Turkish rules to run for the presidency.

Erdogan, in power for more than two decades, has reached his presidential term limit and could run again only if an early election is called or the constitution is changed. The next election is scheduled for 2028.

HOW HAS THE POLITICAL LANDSCAPE SHIFTED?

Since the CHP's nationwide victory over the AKP in the 2024 local elections, a widening crackdown has led to the suspension, arrest or prosecution of a number of opposition mayors, while several politicians have switched parties or resigned from CHP.

Some mayors such as CHP's long-serving Aydin Mayor Ozlem Cercioglu joined the AKP in August 2025, while other mayors, including Izmir's Cemil Tugay, quit the CHP, citing the annulment decision as a reason.

The AKP has strengthened its position in parliament, gaining 16 lawmakers for a net increase of 14 seats to 277 deputies. Several lawmakers elected from opposition parties joined the AKP, including former members of the IYI Party and other parties that allied with the CHP during 2023 elections.

WHAT REACTIONS ARE THERE TO THE CRACKDOWN?

The CHP itself condemned the appeals court ruling annulling its congress as a "judicial coup," with Ozel vowing to fight it through legal appeals.

Opposition parties, including the pro-Kurdish DEM Party, criticised the ruling as anti-democratic. Government officials and AKP representatives said it demonstrated that democratic and legal institutions were functioning.

The European Union voiced concern about judicial independence, rule of law and political pluralism in Turkey.

The annulment rattled markets, pushing the lira and other Turkish assets lower and forcing the central bank to sell billions in foreign reserves, though conditions stabilised a day later.