Ousted CHP Leader Özel Says He's Preparing to Launch a New Party

Özgür Özel, ousted as CHP chairman after a May 2026 Ankara court ruling annulled the party's 2023 congress and reinstated Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, said on July 15, 2026 that preparations were underway for a possible new political party — though he said any formal step would wait on the outcome of pending legal proceedings. Özel said an appeal against the ruling that ousted him, plus a request for an extraordinary CHP congress, could be resolved within roughly two weeks; if those routes are blocked, he indicated a new party could be formally launched by late July or early August. The dispute has split the CHP into rival power centers ahead of the 2028 presidential race, with Özel continuing to draw large rally crowds despite lacking formal control of the party apparatus.