New Party: Why Turkiye’s opposition suffered a split and what that means

What the report says

Al Jazeera, citing its staff and Reuters, reported that Ozgur Ozel, recently removed as leader of Turkiye’s main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP), has launched a breakaway organization called the New Party. The announcement came last week in Ankara, alongside 90 other CHP lawmakers who left with him, creating a major new force in opposition politics and a fresh challenge to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s governing AK Party.

According to the report, the split followed a May 21 court ruling that invalidated the CHP congress that had made Ozel chairman and restored his predecessor, Kemal Kilicdaroglu, to the post. The court cited alleged voter fraud. Ozel’s allies viewed the decision as interference in party affairs, while the government denied intervening and described the case as an internal CHP matter handled by independent legal institutions. Police later entered CHP headquarters to implement the ruling, and Kilicdaroglu’s leadership began disciplinary steps against figures linked to Ozel.

The rupture comes after the CHP made significant local election gains in 2024, including victories in Istanbul and Ankara that dealt Erdogan’s AK Party a major setback. Al Jazeera reported that subsequent criminal investigations into CHP-run municipalities have led to detentions, including Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu, who denies corruption charges and is jailed pending trial. The opposition calls the cases a crackdown; the government says they are legitimate corruption investigations.

In parliament, the AK Party has 277 seats in the 600-member chamber, while the CHP is left with 44 after 91 defections, according to the report. Ozel said after the New Party’s first meeting that he would support Imamoglu for president, but analysts cited by Al Jazeera suggest the opposition split could also benefit Erdogan.