Ozgur Ozel’s New Party becomes main opposition party in Turkey’s parliament after 91 MPs quit People’s Republican Party, CHP, to join him.
Hamdi Firat Buyuk
Opposition leader, Ozgur Ozel, waves to crowds during a rally in Izmir, Turkey, 26 May 2026. Photo: EPA/STRINGER
Former party chairman Ozgur Ozel announced on Friday that he and 90 lawmakers had resigned from the Republican People’s Party, CHP, to establish the New Party.
Ozel’s decision marks the latest stage in a crisis that began on May 21, when a court annulled the CHP congress that had elected him chairman and reinstated his predecessor, Kemal Kilicdaroglu.
Ozel said he hoped the New Party would “be beneficial for our country, our nation, our party, and all of us”, as he signed the document for the foundation of his new party.
Meanwhile, 90 other MPs also resigned from the CHP, making the New Party Turkey’s new main opposition party. The CHP lost its main opposition role after 23 years, retaining only 44 MPs.
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s ruling Justice and Development Party, AKP, has the largest number of seats in parliament, with 277.
The court in May cited alleged voting fraud as the reason for reinstating Kilicdaroglu but Ozel and his supporters saw the ruling as blatant judicial interference in the party’s affairs.
Police entered CHP headquarters four days later to enforce the ruling. Kilicdaroglu’s administration subsequently began disciplinary proceedings against figures associated with Ozel and promised political and organisational “purification”.
Ozel and his allies argue that the judicial intervention and subsequent internal purge have eliminated any possibility of the CHP winning the next elections.
Kilicdaroglu has been removing key CHP figures and local party administration since he took office.
“We opened up a new road because they blocked all the others. We are opening up that road now. Are you ready to march to power? We will march to power,” Ozel said on July 21 in parliament.
Ekrem Imamoglu, jailed Mayor of Istanbul and an opposition presidential candidate, is one of Ozel’s main partners. He is behind bars for alleged corruption – charges he describes as politically motivated. Imamoglu supported Ozel at the 2023 CHP congress and led the internal resistance within the party against Kilicdaroglu.
His jailing and the developments around the CHP come as President Erdogan and his government do their utmost to thwart any opposition challenge to their years-long rule.
In addition to the annulment of the party congress, dozens of CHP mayors and hundreds of party members have been arrested on corruption and terrorism charges in recent years.
Opposition politicians, rights groups and international organisations have accused the government of using the judiciary to crush its political rivals in what they describe as an unprecedented crackdown.
Ozel’s new party is generating excitement in opposition ranks – but according to experts translating a buzz into a political force capable of challenging President Erdogan will not be easy.
