The operation followed a decision by an appeals court on Thursday that annulled the results of the CHP’s 2023 party congress and removed party leader Ozgur Ozel from office, citing irregularities in the internal election process.

The court reinstated former CHP chairman Kemal Kilicdaroglu, who led the opposition against President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in the 2023 presidential election but was defeated at the polls.

A Reuters witness said riot police used tear gas and forced entry into the CHP headquarters as supporters and party officials attempted to resist efforts to implement the court order. Images from the scene showed party supporters gathering outside the building in central Ankara while security forces secured the area.

The confrontation marked the latest development in a growing dispute over the leadership of the CHP, Turkey’s largest opposition party and the principal challenger to Erdogan’s ruling political bloc.

Ozel rejected the court ruling and described it as a “judicial coup,” arguing that the judiciary was interfering in the internal affairs of the opposition. He vowed to challenge the decision through legal channels and pledged to remain at party headquarters while pursuing appeals.

On Saturday, Ozel called for a new party congress to be convened as quickly as possible in an effort to resolve the leadership dispute through another internal vote.

Kilicdaroglu, meanwhile, said a congress would be organized at what he described as an appropriate time, signaling a different approach to managing the transition following the court decision.

Despite the ruling removing him as party chairman, CHP lawmakers on Saturday elected Ozel as leader of the party’s parliamentary group, underscoring continued support for him among many elected party representatives.
The leadership battle comes at a sensitive moment for Turkish politics, with the CHP seeking to maintain unity after years of internal debate over strategy and leadership following Erdogan’s victory in the 2023 presidential contest.
The court decision and subsequent police operation are likely to deepen tensions between the opposition and the government, with CHP officials continuing to argue that judicial institutions are being used to influence political outcomes, an accusation authorities reject.

Dela Rosa, a former national police chief and one of the principal architects of Duterte’s war on drugs, has remained inside the Philippine Senate building for a third consecutive day after Senate leaders blocked attempts by authorities to serve an ICC arrest warrant.

The senator, widely known by his nickname “Bato,” faces accusations of crimes against humanity, specifically murder, alongside Duterte and other alleged co-perpetrators linked to the anti-narcotics crackdown that rights groups say left thousands dead.
“I am not appealing for violent support.

I am appealing for peaceful support,” Dela Rosa told reporters, urging military personnel and fellow graduates of the Philippine Military Academy to publicly oppose any move by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s administration to surrender him to international authorities.

Outside the Senate complex in Manila, approximately 500 riot police were deployed as several hundred demonstrators gathered to demand Dela Rosa’s arrest and extradition to the ICC. Protesters described him as a central figure in the deadly anti-drug campaign launched during Duterte’s presidency.

Dela Rosa served as Philippine police chief from 2016 to 2018, overseeing the early and most intense phase of Duterte’s crackdown on narcotics. Human rights organizations and international investigators have alleged that many of those killed were low-level drug suspects and users.

Duterte himself was arrested in March last year and transferred to The Hague on the same day, where he remains in detention awaiting trial before the ICC.

Dela Rosa had largely avoided public appearances since November before resurfacing this week during a Senate vote that enabled Duterte-aligned lawmakers to secure leadership control of the chamber.

The Senate’s new leadership has stated it would permit Dela Rosa’s arrest only if directed by a Philippine court rather than solely on the basis of the ICC warrant.

A spokesperson for Marcos said on Tuesday that the president would not interfere in Senate decisions regarding the matter.

The Philippine Supreme Court has yet to rule on Dela Rosa’s petition seeking to block the government from enforcing the ICC arrest order.