New Party (Turkey, 2026)

Increasing pressure on the opposition

Following the loss of the parliamentary majority by the Nation Alliance in the 2023 general election and the defeat of CHP presidential candidate Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu in the presidential runoff, an internal reform movement emerged within the CHP led by parliamentary group chairman Özgür Özel and Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu. At the 38th Ordinary Convention held on 4–5 November 2023, Özgür Özel defeated long time chairman Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu for the party chairmanship. In the subsequent local elections of 31 March 2024, the CHP won the election with 38% of the vote, beating the AKP for the first time.^[10] The election result, alongside the increasing effects of the economic crisis, led to increased opposition calls for early elections.^[11][12] As Ekrem İmamoğlu emerged as a prospective presidential candidate, CHP leader Özel announced that the candidate selection process would be determined through a primary election.^[13]

Following legal proceedings, İmamoğlu and several CHP mayors were arrested on 19 March 2025. The arrests led to nationwide protests, while international human rights organizations described the judicial actions as politically motivated efforts to target an opposition figure.^[14] In response, Özel held a presidential primary election, framing the vote as a demonstration of solidarity. In the primary held on 23 March 2025, in which 15 million voters participated across CHP local organizations, İmamoğlu received a majority of the votes and was officially declared the party's presidential candidate.^[15][16]

Absolute nullity crisis and CHP internal power struggle

The 36th Civil Chamber of the Ankara Regional Court of Justice issued an absolute nullity ruling regarding the party's convention, ordering the removal of Özel as chairman and the transfer of managerial duties to Kılıçdaroğlu.^[17] This legal decision followed the arrest of İmamoğlu^[14][18] and former Kılıçdaroğlu's support for lawsuits alleging irregularities at the party's convention.^[19] Prior to the ruling, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) Chairman Devlet Bahçeli publicly called on Özel to distance himself from İmamoğlu.^[20][21][22] Özel rejected these calls in a series of public rallies stating that the court ruling taken against the party leadership was politically motivated for not aligning with the governing coalition.^[23][24][25] Many CHP politicians accused Kılıçdaroğlu of being a government trustee who would turn the party into controlled opposition.^[26][27][28]

On 24 May 2026, law enforcement executed an eviction order against Özel's party administration at the party headquarters following a legal petition by Kılıçdaroğlu's legal team.^[29] In response, Özel and party supporters initiated a march toward the TBMM.^[30] Kılıçdaroğlu referred nine members of parliament for expulsion, and it was alleged that Kılıçdaroğlu's team was also preparing for the expulsion of Özel.^[31][32] On 13 July 2026, Kılıçdaroğlu claimed that Özel and İmamoğlu were supported by Gülenists.^[33][34]

On 17 June, 74 out of 81 provincial chairs supporting Özel delivered a request for an extraordinary party convention to the party headquarters.^[35] The Kılıçdaroğlu party administration rejected the request, referred three figures including Istanbul Provincial Chairman Özgür Çelik to the party's high disciplinary board with a request for expulsion, and dissolved the Ankara Provincial Administration and the CHP Women's Branch management.^[36]

In June 2026, İzmir Mayor Cemil Tugay and Bolu Mayor Tanju Özcan denounced the Kılıçdaroğlu party administration and resigned from the CHP.^[37][38] Several MPs did the same, and called on Özel to establish a new political party.^{[39][40][41][42]} On 22 June 2026, CHP overseas branches supporting Özel held a rally in front of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) in Strasbourg in reaction to the absolute nullity ruling.^[43]

Formation of the party

On 21 July 2026, Özel announced he was founding a new party in his farewell speech to the CHP parliamentary group.^[44] Sharply criticizing Kılıçdaroğlu's stance following the 2023 election defeat, the transfer of party headquarters via court ruling, and the expulsions within the party, Özel alleged that the ruling bloc and "deep state" of offering him the party leadership for 30 years in exchange for dropping support for İmamoğlu and engaging in "Ankara-centered politics", but that he rejected the "controlled opposition" model.^[44]

Foreign policy

The party embraces Mustafa Kemal Atatürk's foreign policy doctrine, that is, standing as a "mediator" and avoiding conflict at all costs while also safeguarding Turkey's national interests.^[45] According to its platform, the party is strongly in favor of Turkey's accession into the European Union and NATO, also pledges to implement democratic reforms to overturn the "authoritarian" Erdoganist policies. Enhancing the country's presence within NATO, the OSCE, and the Council of Europe is in the New Party's agenda. Özel is a strong critic of the United States under Donald Trump and his ambassador to Ankara Tom Barrack.^[46][47][48] The New Party seeks to have Turkey as a regional power by investing in soft power. The party seeks to transform the Turkish Armed Forces into a professional, non-political institution.^[45]