At a mass opposition rally in İzmir on 19 May, Turkey’s main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) leader Özgür Özel delivered a fiery speech directly addressing President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, calling him a “local dictator” and accusing him of silencing dissent through judicial repression.
Speaking to hundreds of thousands gathered in Gündoğdu Square, Özel said: “You cannot be a global leader if you are not democratic at home. And I say this looking you in the eye: you are not a global leader, you are a local dictator.” He described Silivri Prison—where many opposition figures have been detained—as a “detention camp for dissidents”, comparing it to Adolf Hitler’s Stadelheim Prison and Bashar al-Assad’s Sednaya facility.
The rally, titled ‘Protecting the National Will’, marked the sixth mass mobilisation by the CHP since the controversial arrest of İstanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu, Erdoğan’s main rival in the upcoming 2028 presidential elections. The event coincided with the 19 May Atatürk Commemoration and Youth Day, lending symbolic weight to the opposition’s message of democratic renewal.
Özel’s speech focused heavily on the erosion of democratic institutions under Erdoğan’s leadership. He accused the government of orchestrating a “civilian coup” through judicial mechanisms, saying: “There are two kinds of coups: military and civilian. The one in Turkey today originates in Beştepe [the presidential complex], and its weapon is the judiciary.”
Özel presented a platform focused on youth, pledging to abolish the Higher Education Council (YÖK), end political appointments of trustees (a practice in which elected mayors are replaced by state officials), and eliminate visa restrictions. “We will establish a Turkey free of bans and borders during our first years in office,” he said. He also promised improved access to internet technologies and increased student grants.
In response, ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) spokesperson Ömer Çelik accused Özel of echoing the rhetoric of Europe’s far-right. Writing on social media platform X, Çelik claimed, “Özgür Özel’s statements are largely a copy of Europe’s far-right. Now he has taken on the role of translating for Europe’s fascists.” Dismissing the CHP leader’s remarks as derivative and inflammatory, Çelik added, “Calling our President a ‘local dictator’ is the kind of language first and most often used by European fascists. It is tragic that someone who has not even succeeded as a local leader dares to comment on the leadership of our President.”
