Turkish opposition Istanbul HQ seized under police guard

After hours of clashes with protesters, a court-appointed interim head of the Istanbul branch of Turkey's main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) entered the party’s building under police protection.

Last Tuesday, the court removed the Istanbul provincial head of the CHP, ruling that delegate votes in the party’s 2023 provincial congress had been influenced by alleged bribery. The court declared that the board members elected at that congress should therefore be dismissed.

The CHP rejected the allegations, arguing that the court had no authority to overturn congress decisions, since the Supreme Election Board (YSK) is the ultimate arbiter. The YSK had already approved the congress, and the deadline for objections had long passed.

The court appointed former CHP deputy chair Gursel Tekin as interim provincial head, replacing Ozgur Celik, who was removed.

Despite his earlier statements, Tekin requested police support to forcibly enter the building after both CHP headquarters and Celik said they would not allow him to assume the role.

The CHP has faced a months-long legal crackdown that has led to the arrests of hundreds of members, including Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's main political rival. Imamoglu’s arrest in March triggered Turkey’s largest street protests in a decade.

Since late last year, 16 CHP mayors nationwide have been arrested on corruption charges after the party won local elections in March 2024.

In an interview with the Financial Times, CHP chair Ozgur Ozel accused the government of staging “a coup against the future ruling party”.

“They are trying to take over the party that won the last election, was the founding party of the Turkish republic, is the party leading every poll . . .  We’re facing an authoritarian government and . . .  the only option is to resist,” he said.

“If the CHP goes, Turkey will go too.”

'Siege'

The CHP on Sunday called on Istanbul residents to gather near its headquarters after police erected barricades around the building, which party leaders described as a “siege”.

On Monday afternoon, riot police used pepper spray and shields to push back demonstrators, including members of parliament and senior CHP officials.

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Suat Ozcagdas, a CHP member present at the scene, told HalkTV that police were using tear gas continuously to advance “inch by inch”, forcing many party officials to retreat to the building’s third floor.

“They are advancing with gas at the front, alongside their teams, and at the back with Gursel Tekin, trying to climb the building floor by floor. There are elderly people and people with asthma. On every floor they enter with gas. This is a human rights violation,” he said.

Earlier on Monday morning, several political influencers who had voiced support for the protests were detained. Internet watchdogs also reported that authorities throttled bandwidth, slowing access specifically to social media platforms.

The Istanbul ruling could influence a separate case in Ankara that may unseat CHP leader Ozel.

In that lawsuit, which is scheduled for a hearing on 15 September, the results of the party’s 38th Ordinary Congress in 2023 could be annulled over alleged procedural irregularities. It was at that congress that Ozel replaced Kemal Kilicdaroglu, who had lost to Erdogan in that year’s presidential election.

CHP general headquarters decided to close its provincial branch headquarters late on Monday and work from somewhere else until an Istanbul-wide congress is held for the party’s local leadership.