Turkey’s ousted opposition leader plans new party | Election News

Ozgur Ozel is hoping to launch a major protest after a court removed him as leader of the Republican People’s Party (CHP).

Turkish opposition leader Ozgur Ozel has announced plans to form a new political party after being expelled from the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP).

Ozel made the announcement in a speech to parliament on Tuesday. Ozel was ousted from his former party by court order in May, amid what critics called a coup by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

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The former CHP leader said his new political career showed “hope for a new beginning” in the attempt to oust the former Turkiye leader.

The new party, the name of which has not been announced, is expected to trigger an exodus of voters and MPs from the secularist CHP, which was founded more than a century ago by modern Turkiye founder Mustafa Kemal Ataturk.

Turkey’s opposition has faced several legal challenges, with hundreds of elected officials and members arrested since the end of 2024.

“We are establishing our new party by taking the first step together with the ministers elected by our country,” said Ozel. “This is the surest way to run Turkey.”

This happened two months after the appeal court removed Ozel from his position as CHP chairman and he brought back the party’s former and unpopular leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu.

Most of the CHP’s 135 MPs in the 600-seat parliament are expected to quit and join the new party, which Ozel said will be the main opposition to a “very different” parliament.

However, some have suggested that the new party led by Ozel could play into Erdogan’s hands by dividing the opposition.

A politically motivated “coup”.

Criminal investigations in Turkey – particularly allegations of corruption in CHP administrations – have led to the imprisonment of hundreds of elected officials and party members. including Ekrem ImamogluThe mayor of Istanbul, who is considered to be the strongest opponent of Erdogan.

Imamoglu has been in prison since March last year and faces charges that could lead to decades in prison.

Ozel and his opponents say the court will rule against him and a serious violation of law on the CHP the number of political “takeovers”.

The government, however, insists that Turkish courts are impartial and act without political pressure.

Erdogan, who has ruled Turkey for more than two decades, first as prime minister and then as president, has rejected claims of government interference in the courts, describing the case that led to Ozel’s ouster as an internal dispute within the CHP.

Under Ozel’s leadership, the CHP did a lot of damage to Erdogan’s ruling party 2024 municipal electionsacquiring several cities and strengthening his influence on the major cities he had won five years earlier, including Istanbul and Ankara.

Analysts said Ozel’s new party could benefit Erdogan and his ruling AK Party by dividing the opposition camp and disrupting their alliance.

“This picture can change if the new party can respond more strongly to the public and turn into a major part of the opposition,” said Murat Gezici, chairman of pollster Gezici.

“However, in the short and long term, the political math works in favor of Erdogan and the AK Party.”