28.05.2026
Applying the law
Using tear gas and rubber bullets, the police stormed the HQ of the main opposition party in Ankara. Esen Uslu reports on the latest step towards one-man rule
Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and his regime have taken another step towards the long expected realisation of ‘one-man rule’ by effectively neutering the Republican People’s Party (CHP): that is, the principal opposition party. This time the ploy was to declare the CHP’s congress, held in November 2023, unlawful, through the order of a quite junior civil court. That meant ousting CHP leader, Ozgur Özel, and reinstating former chair, Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu - a divisive figure within the party - who lost to Erdoğan in 2023.
According to the Turkish legal system, only the Supreme Election Council can rule on the legality of a political party’s congress and issue a certificate of election within a strict time limit. The SEC is an independent board, composed of six members elected by the Court of Cassation, and five members elected by the Council of State. Each member is appointed for six years. Political parties with groups in the Grand National Assembly send representatives to the SEC to participate in deliberations, but they do not have the right to vote.
SEC is responsible for carrying out and ensuring the integrity of elections, investigating and making final decisions on all cases of corruption, complaints and objections concerning election matters during and after elections, and approving election records. SEC decisions are final and binding. There is no right of appeal.
According to the rules, SEC certified the CHP congress and the outcome of its elections for party offices within the time limit after the congress was held and complaints were lodged.
On May 6, when the time came to replace the members who had served their full term, new members were selected for the SEC from the CC and CS. The new SEC was ready to comply with Erdoğan’s whims, since he appointed nearly all of the CC and CS members.
Clever plan
However, a ‘Baldrick’s clever plan’ was hatched: some members of the ousted CHP leadership sued the party in a lower civil court, arguing that the new leadership had been elected by corrupting some delegates. They sought to annul the congress and its consequences on the grounds of “absolute nullity”. This argument was previously applicable to marriages and contracts when one of the parties was unqualified, such as a married man marrying again. It had nothing to do with congresses and the elections of political parties. But, hey presto! The court annulled the congress and reinstated the Kılıçdaroğlu old guard!
CHP’s Özel leadership applied to the SEC and objected to the court’s decision, citing lack of competency. The SEC rejected the application but has yet to publish its reasoning. No one cared about the legal niceties. The old party guard, accompanied by bailiffs and a large police force, forced their way into CHP’s Ankara headquarters using rubber bullets and tear gas. Özel and other CHP members were violently thrown out.
Now, the spokespersons of Erdoğan’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) have the opportunity to claim that the CHP’s internal affairs are none of their concern.
It may take several months to clear up the mess CHP is in. The timing of the absolute nullity decision suggests that an early election may be scheduled for this autumn.
Erdoğan was elected twice, so he is not eligible to run in the presidential elections at the end of his second term. However, there is a catch: He can run in early elections. Therefore, an early election is expected, in order to perpetuate his rule.
CHP’s presidential hopeful, Istanbul mayor Ekrem Imamoğlu, has been jailed on trumped-up corruption and espionage charges since March 2025. Almost all CHP mayors of major cities and towns have also been jailed on similar charges. Some administrators appointed by the government now rule those municipalities in an attempt to undercut the CHP candidate’s grassroots support.
Now that CHP’s central leadership has been ousted and the old guard reinstated, the troubled party will not be able to function properly or prepare for early elections. Thus, Erdoğan’s one-man rule continues, as he makes decisions about everything, including the opposition’s leadership.
There are still cards to play if CHP’s ousted Özel leadership attempts to cause trouble by calling for a quick congress to hold elections and reestablish legitimate leadership and unity of purpose. After the party headquarters in Ankara was stormed and the leadership forcibly ejected, a large crowd marched seven kilometres in heavy rain to the Grand National Assembly, crossing several police roadblocks along the way. A criminal investigation has begun. It is quite possible that their voice will be silenced through the courts. We shall see.
Backing
The Erdoğan regime’s brazen moves in the political arena are only possible through the support it enjoys from western powers. At the Doha Forum in Qatar last December, Tom Barrack, US ambassador to Turkey and special envoy for Syria, said that attempts to impose democratic governance on the Middle East have failed and that “benevolent monarchies offer the best model for governing nations in the tumultuous region.”
Barrack expressed similar views more elaborately and forcefully at the Antalya Diplomacy Forum in April of this year. “If you look at the region - and again, I’ll be criticised for saying this because it’s anti-democratic - the only thing that has worked are these powerful leadership regimes, whether benevolent monarchies or monarchical republics.”
At that time, the now-ousted leadership of the CHP asked that he be declared persona non grata for suggesting something so hostile to a democratic republic formed by toppling and repudiating the Ottoman monarchy.
Just a few days earlier, Erdoğan had a phone conversation with Donald Trump. The US president praised him as a strong leader and his best friend. This was apparently a green light for him to proceed against the opposition.
Erdoğan’s international support is not limited to the USA. In late April, when the Turkish foreign minister visited London, Britain and Turkey signed a ‘Strategic Partnership Framework Document’. The Starmer government has a multibillion-pound defence agreement with Turkey that covers the sale of Eurofighter jets and Meteor missiles, as well as the training of Turkish pilots and maintenance crews. The agreement also aims to “enhance defence capability and industry cooperation” and to cooperate more broadly against terrorism and organised crime. Both parties will maintain close alignment on international crises.
Nato secretary general Rutte visited Ankara to meet with Erdoğan and discuss preparations for the Nato leaders’ summit, which will take place in Ankara on July 7-8. Erdoğan stated that the region’s instability once again demonstrated the importance of Nato members’ cooperation and solidarity.
Abraham Accords
President Trump reminded us of the price that will be paid. Tom Barrack has already stated: “The US is preparing to take steps to normalise relations between its regional allies, Turkey and Israel, via Syria.” Turkey and Israel will maintain their respective spheres of influence in Syria without encroaching on each other, and the US will act as the guarantor of this balance. On May 25, Trump posted on Truth Social:
I stated that, after all the work done by the United States to try and pull this very complex puzzle together, it should be mandatory that all of these Countries, at a minimum, simultaneously, sign onto the Abraham Accords. Those Countries discussed are Saudi Arabia, The United Arab Emirates (already a Member!), Qatar, Pakistan, Türkiye, Egypt, Jordan, and Bahrain. … Therefore, I am mandatorily requesting that all Countries immediately sign the Abraham Accords, and that, if Iran signs its Agreement with me, as President of the United States of America, it would be an Honor to have them also be part of this unparalleled World Coalition.1
All of these political developments are taking place amid deteriorating economic circumstances. The Turkish finance minister was holding a meeting in London to seek investment and offer preferential investment opportunities when the bombshell of “absolute nullity” exploded. Many potential investors left the meeting without hearing him out. Turkish stocks fell rapidly, and the Turkish central bank spent billions of dollars’ worth of gold to prop up the Turkish lira.
Inflation rose again, and the purchasing power of workers and pensioners fell sharply as the Eid al-Adha holiday approached. Clearly, Erdoğan could not win a fair election. Therefore, he is trying to cripple the main opposition party.
He will probably increase the minimum wage in June and provide some relief for diminishing pensions, despite the fact that these measures will exacerbate inflation. He hopes that these actions will improve his chances of being elected again.
He is also banking on winning Kurdish votes by creating the expectation that he alone can restart the peace process. He continues his ‘Turkey without terror’ rhetoric, but is dragging his feet on taking positive steps, implying that the success of the process hinges on his re-election. Neither Abdullah Öcalan nor the Kurdish freedom movement will fall for such illusions, but Erdoğan is a master of brinkmanship.