The deposed leader of the opposition party CHP Özgür Özel called for the protests.Image: keystone
May 26, 2026, 2:26 p.mMay 26, 2026, 2:26 p.m
In the western Turkish metropolis of Izmir, police used water cannons against demonstrators who had gathered there to protest against the removal of the leadership of the largest opposition party, the CHP.
The deposed party leader Özgür Özel called for the protests. The police had already cordoned off Cumhuriyet Meydani (Republic Square) before the protests began.
Demonstrators fled into the side streets, as a dpa reporter reported on site. There were more than a thousand protesters around the meeting place, shouting slogans such as “Shoulder to shoulder against fascism” and “Fighting we will win”.
They described Kemal Kilicdaroglu, who was appointed as interim party leader, as a “traitor” and linked him to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan with the exclamation “Tayyip Kemal”. A speech by the deposed party leader Özel is expected.
Opposition party leader deposed
Last week, a court declared the 2023 party conference invalid and removed Özel as party leader. There are allegations that delegates were bribed to vote for Özel. The CHP party leadership rejects the allegations and appealed to the Supreme Court. The court provisionally appointed Özel’s controversial predecessor Kilicdaroglu as CHP party leader. This sparked protests in the capital Ankara and Istanbul. (sda/dpa/fwa)