ISTANBUL: Turkiye’s ousted opposition leader Ozgur Ozel on Wednesday ruled out any plans to leave the crisis-hit CHP and form a new party, urging fellow members to stay put, Turkish media reported.
The CHP, Turkiye’s oldest political party, has been badly shaken by a May 21 court ruling that overturned a 2023 party primary which elected Ozel as leader, reinstating his defeated rival Kemal Kilicdaroglu.
Three days later, riot police battered their way into the CHP’s Ankara headquarters, firing tear gas and beating party members before throwing them out, Ozel told AFP on Sunday evening.
Despite the crisis, Ozel moved to quickly scotch rumors he might leave the party to form a new political faction and urged his fellow party members to stay put.
“We have no intention of forming a new party,” he told journalists after attending prayers in Manisa near the western resort of Izmir, on the first day of the Eid Al-Fitr holiday, the BirGun newspaper reported.
