ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq - Turkish police on Sunday stormed the Republican People's Party (CHP) headquarters in Ankara to evict Ozgur Ozel and his loyalists after his leadership of the opposition party was suspended by a court days earlier, with former leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu taking charge in his stead.

The Ankara Regional Court of Appeals on Thursday ruled that the CHP’s November 4-5, 2023, congress, where Ozel defeated longtime party leader Kilicdaroglu, was invalid due to what the court described as “absolute nullity” as a result of election fraud, Turkish state media reported.

Following the verdict, Ozel said he is "not going anywhere" and will not submit to "the judicial branches of the AK Party [Justice and Development Party]," led by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Videos circulating online  on Thursday showed Turkish riot police forcefully entering the building using tear gas as party members and supporters tried to fend them off using banners and assorted items.

Turkish police on Sunday forcefully stormed the headquarters of the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) in Ankara, firing tear gas canisters and rubber bullets.

The escalation comes days after a Turkish court annulled the CHP’s 2023 leadership vote over allegations… pic.twitter.com/RT6WOaxw2j

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“Our crime is making the party the leading party after 47 years. Our crime is defeating the AK Party,” Ozel said in a video message.

Ozel said a group “whose sole purpose was to fight” showed up at the building early in the morning, but “the youth repelled them. They came again, they came in larger crowds. The doors were closed, the resistance started. Now they have come with the police,” calling on people to voice their concern.

The pro-Kurdish Peoples' Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party) slammed the police incursion, calling it “a sign that democratic will and institutional legitimacy have been wounded simultaneously.”

“In democratic systems, party buildings are places for negotiation and compromise, not brute force. A political crisis should be overcome through dialogue, not with police presence. Political issues cannot be resolved by force, breaking down doors, or using tear gas. This is unacceptable,” the DEM Party said.

After the CHP lost the 2024 Turkish presidential election in a landslide and voted to oust its leadership, Kilicdaroglu, who had led the party for almost 14 years, took a legal case against Ozel, claiming that the congress that saw him replaced had been carried out illegally.

The court on Thursday ordered Ozel, members of the party’s Central Executive Board, Assembly, and High Disciplinary Board to be temporarily removed from their posts until a final ruling is issued.

Erdogan’s administration has heavily cracked down on the CHP after it secured major victories in the 2024 local elections, with party officials having been arrested on myriad charges.

Among them is jailed Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu, a leading rival to Erdogan, who is facing separate corruption and espionage-related trials that he says are politically motivated.

Imamoglu has been imprisoned for more than a year and is currently standing trial alongside 413 co-defendants. Prosecutors are seeking up to 2,430 years in prison if he is convicted.

The court’s ruling also annulled the CHP Istanbul provincial congress held on October 8, 2023, along with all decisions taken during that gathering.