The ousted mayor of Istanbul, Ekrem İmamoğlu, has announced his departure from the historic Republican People’s Party (CHP) – founded in 1923 by Atatürk himself – to join the New Party (Yeni Parti), the party recently founded by Özgür Özel and born out of an internal split within what was, until recently, Turkey’s main opposition party. Imamoğlu’s wife, Dilek İmamoğlu, has also announced that she is resigning from the CHP.
The former mayor of Istanbul, who is currently in prison, is leaving the Republican People’s Party after 17 years of membership in the party. CHP spokesperson Müslim Sarı, for his part, stated following the news that İmamoğlu’s decision to leave the party “comes as no surprise” and that “his resignation is, in fact, a decision he should have taken a long time ago”, according to reports in the Turkish media.
İmamoğlu calls for a “new political path” in Turkey
In a statement posted on his social media account, İmamoğlu – who until now was also officially the CHP’s candidate for the Turkish presidency – explained that his decision was “the result of his values and his conviction in the future of Turkey” and stemmed from what he described as “the responsibility I feel towards the nation”.
“Today we are opening a NEW (in Turkish ‘YENİ’, referring to the New Party) path to build together a stronger, more democratic and more hopeful future for Türkiye. I invite you to be part of this journey, to nurture hope together and to build the future together,” wrote İmamoğlu in his message.
The spokesperson for the CHP, Müslim Sarı, reacted immediately on social media as soon as the news broke, pointing out that İmamoğlu had been elected district mayor, Istanbul metropolitan mayor and presidential candidate with the backing of the CHP. “It is unacceptable for a member of one political party to address the leader of another political party as ‘My President’ and to participate in the founding processes of another party,” Sarı denounced, referring to the former mayor’s comments regarding Özel and his New Party whilst he was still a member of the CHP.
Shortly afterwards, Ekrem İmamoğlu’s wife, Dilek İmamoğlu, also announced her departure from the CHP: “For me, leaving the Republican People’s Party, of which I was proud to be a member for many years, is not a surrender; on the contrary, it is the result of not abandoning the values in which I believe. Because I cannot give up my hope for a Turkey where the people’s voice is heard, where their work and their will are not ignored, and where the law, justice and equality apply to everyone,” she stated in a public statement. “With this conviction, today I am joining the NEW Party,” she added.
İmamoğlu joins Özel’s party from prison
The former mayor made this announcement from prison, as he has been held at Marmara Prison (or Silivri Prison) in Istanbul since March 2025 on serious corruption charges relating to his time as head of the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality.
It is also worth noting that he was arrested on the very day the CHP announced his nomination as its presidential candidate for the forthcoming presidential elections, scheduled for 2028.
Prosecutors accuse İmamoğlu of setting up and leading a criminal organisation by exploiting his position, and allege that he is behind at least 142 alleged criminal acts. The former mayor denies all the charges and insists that the legal proceedings brought against him last year are politically motivated.
İmamoğlu also faces several further trials on other charges, including a sentence – which has been appealed – of 1 year and 8 months’ imprisonment handed down against him in July 2025 for insults and threats against a public prosecutor, charges of espionage and allegations of collaboration with the PKK terrorist group, amongst others. Furthermore, in March 2025 Istanbul University revoked his university degree after it was proven to be fake and had been obtained fraudulently; without a university degree, İmamoğlu would not be eligible to become President of Turkey, should he be elected.
Crisis within the CHP has turned the Turkish political landscape on its head
İmamoğlu’s departure comes amidst a serious internal crisis and a deep division within the CHP. On 24 July, the party’s leader until last May, Özgür Özel, a close ally of İmamoğlu, left the party and founded the New Party (Yeni Parti) alongside 90 other MPs who had defected from the Republican People’s Party. As a result, the party newly founded by Özel has become the second-largest force in the Turkish parliament, second only to Erdoğan’s AKP.
Özel’s departure from the CHP came approximately two months after an Ankara court annulled the CHP’s 2023 congress due to alleged irregularities in the voting in which Özel was elected; the court then ruled that he should be removed from the party leadership and reinstated the party’s former leader, Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, to the post, so he once again became the leader of the Turkish opposition.
It is not only İmamoğlu who has joined the New Party founded by Özgür Özel; sources within the Yeni Parti claim that as many as 232 mayors have already resigned from the CHP to join its ranks. Furthermore, a further 260 former MPs announced on 27 July that they were leaving the CHP to join Özel’s new political project.
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Edited and reviewed by:
Pablo Gómez is a specialist in Turkey and has been editor-in-chief of Hispanatolia since 2011. He has been analysing current affairs and geopolitics in Turkey and the surrounding region since 2006.
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