Turkey’s pro-Kurdish DEM Party on Monday criticized a court decision that removed leadership of the country’s main opposition party, describing a police raid that forced leaders from their headquarters as shameful for democratic principles.
Security forces deployed tear gas and stormed the Republican People’s Party headquarters in Ankara on Sunday, removing ousted leader Ozgur Ozel. His party has characterized the court decision as an attack on democracy and promised to challenge it.
The DEM Party, which holds the third-largest number of seats in parliament, joined other opposition groups in denouncing the appeals court decision as undemocratic.
After meeting with Ozel at parliament, DEM Party co-chair Tuncer Bakirhan described the police actions as “shameful and unacceptable,” stating the security forces’ response represented “a disgrace to democracy and a scandal for the rule of law.”
“The fate of political parties should not be determined by courts; it should be determined by their members and the choices of their voters,” Bakirhan added.
The DEM Party ranks as the third-largest parliamentary group, trailing the Republican People’s Party and President Tayyip Erdogan’s ruling AK Party.
The party has worked to broker peace negotiations between Turkish authorities and the banned Kurdistan Workers’ Party, a conflict that has claimed over 40,000 lives since 1984.
However, the DEM has criticized government management of peace efforts, demanding more substantial democratic reforms. The party has expressed concern that the crackdown on opposition forces undermines public confidence in the peace process.
Thursday’s court ruling removed Ozel by invalidating results from the 2023 party congress where he won leadership, citing procedural violations, and restored former leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu, who lost to Erdogan in that year’s presidential race.
The Republican People’s Party accused the court of functioning as an extension of the governing party.
Following his departure from party headquarters Sunday, Ozel organized a demonstration march to the national parliament, declaring to assembled supporters that the legislature would serve as their temporary base “until this struggle frees the party from occupation.”
Omer Celik, spokesman for Erdogan’s AK Party, dismissed criticism of the court ruling Monday.
“Today’s events simply involve the judiciary investigating and reaching a conclusion regarding certain allegations that emerged as a result of internal conflicts and struggles within the CHP,” Celik said.
This controversy unfolds during an extraordinary legal campaign targeting the Republican People’s Party, which polls similarly to Erdogan’s conservative, Islamic-oriented AK Party.
Since 2024, hundreds of party members and elected officials, including Istanbul mayor Ekrem Imamoglu who serves as the party’s expected presidential nominee, have been arrested on corruption allegations the party disputes.
Turkey’s next nationwide election is scheduled for 2028, though it would require earlier scheduling if Erdogan, now 72 and facing constitutional term restrictions, seeks another candidacy.
