By Bosphorus News Türkiye Desk
Özgür Özel has announced plans to leave the Republican People's Party and establish a new political party, opening the way for a large part of the CHP's parliamentary group to move into a separate opposition structure.
Speaking at what he described as his final CHP group meeting on Tuesday, Özel said he would consult provincial chairs, elected members of the Party Assembly and Central Executive Board, and lawmakers before formally establishing the new party.
"We are founding our new party," Özel said during the parliamentary group address, monitored live by Bosphorus News.
He presented the move as a new beginning after efforts to reverse the court ruling that removed him from the CHP leadership failed.
The announcement could separate the CHP's historic name and legal identity from much of its current parliamentary strength.
More than 80 lawmakers attended the meeting, while reports suggested a similar number could join the new party. Such a transfer would immediately give the new organisation the largest opposition group in parliament and leave the CHP under Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu with a sharply reduced number of seats.
The exact number of lawmakers joining the new organisation has not been formally announced. Its name, founding list and registration date also remain unconfirmed.
Court Ruling Returned Kılıçdaroğlu to CHP Leadership
Özel's decision follows a May court ruling that annulled the CHP's 2023 congress, where he defeated Kılıçdaroğlu and became party chairman.
The court annulled the congress over alleged irregularities and returned Kılıçdaroğlu to the leadership. The ruling triggered a prolonged struggle over the CHP headquarters, provincial organisations and control of the party's political machinery.
Özel and his supporters described the judgment as political interference designed to weaken President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's main opponents. The government says Türkiye's courts operate independently.
Özel initially sought to remain inside the CHP and reverse the decision through appeals and a new party congress. He also prepared a separate party as a contingency if the legal dispute prevented his group from contesting an early election under the CHP name.
Tuesday's announcement moves that contingency plan towards implementation.
The new organisation would give Özel's supporters a political and electoral vehicle independent of the continuing legal battle over the CHP leadership.
CHP Name and Parliamentary Weight Could Separate
The split creates an unusual political structure in which Kılıçdaroğlu may retain control of Türkiye's oldest political party while Özel takes much of its elected representation into a new organisation.
Under parliamentary rules, a political party needs at least 20 lawmakers to form a group. A new party joined by around 80 deputies would comfortably clear that threshold and replace the CHP as the largest opposition force in the Grand National Assembly.
The transition would affect parliamentary speaking rights, committee representation and the formal designation of the main opposition party.
It would also create a competition over which organisation inherits the political momentum produced by the CHP's 2024 local election victory.
Under Özel's leadership, the CHP finished ahead of Erdoğan's Justice and Development Party nationally and retained control of Istanbul and Ankara. The result increased Özel's standing inside the opposition and strengthened the positions of Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu and Ankara Mayor Mansur Yavaş.
Özel said he would not abandon İmamoğlu or Yavaş as he established the new movement. Their response will help determine whether voters view the new party as the continuation of the opposition bloc built under Özel or as another splinter organisation.
İmamoğlu remains imprisoned and faces criminal proceedings that his supporters describe as politically motivated. The government rejects accusations that the cases are intended to remove Erdoğan's rivals.
New Party Could Reshape Early Election Arithmetic
The breakaway may initially deepen divisions within the opposition ahead of presidential and parliamentary elections due in 2028.
Analysts cited by Reuters said the fragmentation could benefit Erdoğan if the CHP and Özel's new party compete for the same electorate, organisational networks and opposition alliances.
That advantage would narrow if most CHP lawmakers, provincial organisations and voters moved behind Özel.
The parliamentary numbers also matter for any attempt to bring elections forward.
Türkiye's parliament requires the support of at least 360 of its 600 lawmakers to call an early presidential election. Erdoğan's AK Party and its allies currently hold 328 seats, leaving them dependent on support from outside the governing bloc.
A new opposition party with around 80 lawmakers could become an important actor in negotiations over the timing of the next election.
An early parliamentary decision would also affect Erdoğan's eligibility to seek another presidential term under the current constitutional framework.
Kılıçdaroğlu Retains CHP, Özel Seeks Its Political Base
Kılıçdaroğlu retains control of the CHP's legal identity, headquarters and organisational structure following the court ruling.
Özel must now build a separate party administration, transfer lawmakers and establish local organisations while preserving support among voters who still identify with the CHP name.
The split leaves Türkiye's opposition with two competing centres: the historic CHP under Kılıçdaroğlu and a new parliamentary force expected to be led by Özel.
The formal balance will become clearer when the new party submits its founding documents and lawmakers begin filing their resignations from the CHP.
Sources: Özgür Özel's parliamentary group address, Reuters, Bosphorus News review and reporting.