Turkish opposition leader Ozgur Ozel resigns from the Republican People’s Party (CHP) and helps launch a new political party, Reuters reports and multiple outlets confirm. On Friday, Ozel steps down alongside about 90 lawmakers who also leave the CHP. The group applies to Turkey’s interior ministry to establish the “New Party,” saying the move is meant to help the fractured opposition regroup to challenge President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
Several reports say Ozel is removed as CHP chairman after a May court ruling that annuls the CHP’s 2023 congress and strips him of the party leadership role. Outlets describe the split as deepening divisions within the CHP and raising judicial challenges for the opposition.
DW and other outlets note that because the defectors enter parliament as a bloc, the new party automatically becomes the second-largest parliamentary group. Other coverage focuses on the political and legal hurdles ahead for the new party, including whether it can sustain momentum and present an effective challenge to Erdogan after the CHP split.
