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Turkey's CHP split
Where things stand
Türkiye's main opposition is in the middle of what Daily Sabah describes as the largest split in the Republican People's Party's history: ninety deputies resigned from the CHP on Friday, led by Özgür Özel, whom the outlet identifies as the party's former leader. The stated purpose of the walkout is the founding of a new party, though the mechanics of that launch — its name, its formal registration and the timetable for it — are not yet established in the available reporting, and Özel's departure from the CHP leadership is described only as an accomplished fact rather than explained.
Where the topic stands now is at the moment of rupture rather than its resolution. The resignations formalise a division that had been building inside the party, according to Daily Sabah's framing, but the consequences remain open: the size of the CHP's remaining parliamentary group, the response of the party's current leadership, and whether the ninety will hold together as a single bloc are all unreported so far. Coverage at this stage rests on a single outlet, and details beyond the headline figure of ninety departures should be treated as unconfirmed until corroborated.
The Republican People's Party, known by its Turkish initials CHP, is Türkiye's main opposition party. Özgür Özel served as its leader before the events described here; Daily Sabah refers to him as the party's former chairman. On Friday, he and ninety deputies resigned in order to establish a new party. Daily Sabah characterises the departure as the biggest split the CHP has experienced. The reporting available so far comes from that outlet alone, and the shape of the new party has not been detailed.
Timeline in detail
Saturday, 25 July 2026 · GeopoliticsÖzel and 90 lawmakers leave CHP to found new party
Ninety deputies led by former Republican People's Party leader Özgür Özel resigned from Türkiye's main opposition party on Friday, according to Daily Sabah. The move formalises what the outlet calls the biggest split in the party's history.