Turkey’s ousted opposition leader, Ozgur Özel, showed today that he still enjoys strong support as thousands of people gathered in Ankara and joined a march in the capital.
After delivering a speech to his supporters – estimated in the tens of thousands by the private news agency Anka and opposition-affiliated media – Ozel led a march in the capital following last week’s decision to remove him from the leadership of the main opposition party, the CHP.
The court cancelled the party’s 2023 congress, effectively reinstating former president Kemal Kilicdaroglu – a divisive figure within the party who was defeated by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in elections earlier that year – as its leader.
The decision is believed to boost Erdogan’s chances of remaining in power.
Today, Kilicdaroglu visited CHP headquarters for the first time since the May 21 decision and pledged to clean up the party from corruption, citing cases involving CHP-run municipalities. The ousted leadership denies the allegations, calling them politically motivated, a claim the government rejects.
As Kilicdaroglu was speaking, Ozel was addressing a larger crowd in front of the party’s local offices in Ankara.
“This is not an internal issue of the CHP,” Ozel said. “This is an issue between Erdogan and the nation,” arguing that the court ruling does not legitimize Kilicdaroglu’s leadership. He also called for a party congress to be held immediately, while supporters chanted slogans such as “Leader Ozgur!” and “Traitor Kemal!”
Ankara Mayor Mansour Yavas who is considered an alternative CHP presidential candidate to jailed Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu – who is still considered Erdogan’s biggest political rival – also joined the protest and called for a congress.
Kilitsdaroglu said a congress would be held “as soon as possible”, but did not give a specific timeline.
