“Turkey is in the midst of a process where the dynamics of a civilian coup are at play,” Turkey’s main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) leader Özgür Özel declared on Tuesday during his party’s weekly parliamentary group meeting, accusing the government of systematically undermining democracy.
Özel denounced the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) for suppressing opposition and overriding democratic institutions, citing the recent government-appointed trustee takeover of the Van (Wan) Metropolitan Municipality and the mass detentions of political activists.
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“The process we are experiencing in Turkey today is a civilian coup,” Özel stated. “A coup by the military is called a military coup. If it is carried out by civilians, it is a civilian coup. What is happening in Turkey right now is a direct intervention against the country’s next president.”
Özel’s remarks came amid mounting tensions following the government’s decision to replace elected mayors in Kurdish-majority regions with state-appointed trustees. In Van, a city of over one million people, the government dismissed Mayor Abdullah Zeydan of the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Equality and Democracy (DEM) Party, despite his clear electoral victory in the 31 March local elections.
Özel condemned the government’s ongoing crackdown on dissent. “Democratic objections are being met with brutal force, new arrests, and unlawful detentions,” he said, calling for broad opposition unity.
Regarding the mass arrests of activists from the Peoples’ Democratic Congress (HDK) on Tuesday morning, Özel described the move as a deliberate attempt to intimidate political dissidents. “Today, dozens of individuals who have worked for democracy and social justice were unjustly detained under the pretext of baseless allegations. This is an orchestrated operation aimed at suppressing the voices of opposition and spreading fear among the people,” he asserted.
“No matter how different our political views may be, there is no salvation alone. Either we stand together, or we all lose,” he urged, appealing to opposition parties across the spectrum.
His comments follow the government’s latest security operations, which saw widespread arrests targeting members of opposition parties, labour unions, and civil society groups. Özel accused authorities of manufacturing allegations to silence critics. “Many of these individuals were detained simply because they attended a democracy conference five years ago,” he said.
In addition, a high-ranking CHP delegation, led by parliamentary group leader Ali Mahir Başarır, travelled to Van to support the ousted mayor and local protests against the government’s actions.
“This is not just Van’s problem; this is an issue affecting all 86 million citizens of Turkey,” Başarır told reporters on Monday. “If we remain silent when constitutional rights are violated once, no election will have meaning anymore. Nobody should think they are immune—if we allow this today, tomorrow at 6:00 am, they will be knocking on someone else’s door.”
Van’s elected co-mayor, Abdullah Zeydan, denounced the move as a blatant attack on democracy. “Our citizens went to the polls and made their choice. Now, one million people in Van are being told that their votes don’t count. This is not just disrespectful to Van, but to the democratic will of 85 million people across Turkey.”
The CHP delegation and DEM Party have vowed to continue their protests and legal battle against what they call an authoritarian seizure of power. “Every morning, Turkey wakes up to a new injustice—one day it’s mass arrests, another day it’s a government-appointed trustee,” Başarır stated. “We will not accept this. Democracy, justice, and the rule of law must prevail.”
