Ozgur Ozel announced the formation of a new political party to challenge President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's long-standing rule in Turkey.
Ozgur Ozel, the deposed leader of Turkey’s main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP), announced plans on Tuesday to establish a new political party to challenge President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. The move follows a court ruling in May that ousted Ozel as chairman of the CHP due to alleged irregularities, reinstating the unpopular Kemal Kilicdaroglu. Ozel intends to form the new movement, expected to be named Yeni Parti, by taking the first step with deputies chosen by the nation. He expects the majority of the CHP’s 135 legislators to defect to the new party, which he believes will become the parliament’s main opposition by a wide margin. While the ruling alliance currently has no plans for early elections, Ozel has repeatedly called for an earlier vote to allow voters to weigh in on the legal crackdown on his former party. The government maintains that the judiciary remains impartial, while Ozel framed the court's intervention as a politically motivated effort to weaken the opposition.