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Turkey

Turkey

July 25, 2026

Ankara 10:23 pm

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Ozgur Ozel

Analysis

What challenges await Erdogan’s new rival and Turkey’s new opposition party?

Ousted main opposition leader Ozgur Ozel's bid to challenge Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan depends on surviving a widening legal crackdown and reconciling deep ideological, nationalist and Kurdish divisions within his own coalition.

Halil Karaveli

By Halil Karaveli

Turkey’s main opposition Republican People's Party's (CHP) Ousted party leader Ozgur Ozel waves to supporters from atop a police water cannon vehicle after being forcibly evicted by police from his party’s headquarters on May 24, 2026 in Ankara, Turkey.

Top ally of Turkey’s Erdogan backs state funding for Ozel’s breakaway party

Devlet Bahceli’s suggestion exposes a more nuanced position within the country’s governing alliance over the ongoing legal crackdown against Turkey’s main opposition.

Latest News

Explainer

As Turkey rivalry heats up, Greece to acquire $4B Israeli air defense system

David's Sling.

Turkey to begin surveys for planned northern Cyprus gas pipeline

Turkey's servicemen stand at attention on a Turkish submarine as they participate in the live-fire phase of the Blue Homeland 2026 tactical military exercises in the eastern Mediterranean Sea, in Antalya on April 9, 2026.

Iran's Araghchi reveals Turkey's role in thwarting Kurdish offensive

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi speaks during a joint press conference with his Iraqi counterpart following a meeting in Baghdad on June 28, 2026.

Samuel Wendel

Senior Market Research Analyst

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech

Amberin Zaman

Chief Correspondent

Reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

Jack Dutton

Chief Business Correspondent

In Bristol, reporting on regional business, climate change, AI, tech

Ezgi Akin

Associate Editor (Turkey)

In Ankara, reporting on diplomacy, EU-Turkey ties, NATO

Francesco Schiavi

In Bologna, reporting on security, defense, economy, governance

Barin Kayaoglu

In Ankara, reporting on geopolitics and national security

An election official holds a ballot during a count at a polling station in Diyarbakir, Turkey November 1, 2015. Turks went to the polls in a snap parliamentary election on Sunday under the shadow of mounting internal bloodshed and economic worries, a vote that could determine the trajectory of the polarised country and of President Tayyip Erdogan. The vote is the second in five months, after the AK Party founded by Erdogan lost in June the single-party governing majority it has enjoyed since first coming to

How Turkey's pollsters missed the mark on election predictions

There are several reasons why all the major polling agencies performed so dismally in predicting the results of Turkey's Nov. 1 elections.

Why Syria's youngest refugees need more than just food aid

The Syrian refugee children spread in Syria’s neighboring countries are at risk of becoming isolated and violent and need extensive psychological rehabilitation.

Will AKP victory change Turkey's foreign policy?

If the new Turkish government fails to take advantage of its electoral mandate to make necessary revisions in foreign policy, events on the ground might force its hand anyway.

A man looks at newspapers at a kiosk in Diyarbakir, Turkey November 2, 2015. Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said on Monday the nation had voted for stability in a parliamentary election that saw the AK Party he founded win almost 50 percent of the vote, and said the world should respect the result. REUTERS/Stoyan Nenov - RTX1UCZZ

Analyzing Turkey's election 'earthquake'

Turkey’s election results surprised even the AKP brass, while the MHP and HDP lost considerable ground.

Turks divided over plans to introduce Arabic-language teaching

Turkey's Ministry of National Education has announced that Arabic courses will be offered to students starting in second grade, prompting some to call this an attempt to "assassinate secularism."

Women wave flags outside the AK Party headquarters in Ankara, Turkey November 1, 2015. Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu described the outcome of a general election which swept his AK Party back to a parliamentary majority on Sunday as a victory for democracy. Picture taken November 1, 2015. REUTERS/Umit Bektas - RTX1UC6Q

How the AKP dominated yesterday's election in Turkey

While the Justice and Development Party was projected to win in Turkey’s Nov. 1 polls, a concurrence of factors led to an unexpected sweeping victory.

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan poses as he casts his ballot at a polling station in Istanbul, Turkey November 1, 2015. Turks began voting on Sunday amid worsening security and economic worries in a snap parliamentary election that could profoundly impact the divided country's trajectory and that of President Tayyip Erdogan. The parliamentary poll is the second in five months, after the ruling AK Party founded by Erdogan failed to retain its single-party majority in June. REUTERS/Murad Sezer - RTX1U7U8

Turkey’s dispiriting elections

Erdogan offers an uncertain democratic future for Turkey; Syria Contact Group avoids divisions over Assad’s fate; Iranian and Russian support pivotal in Syrian military campaign to retake Aleppo.

Members of Turkish police special forces take part in a security operation in Diyarbakir, Turkey, October 26, 2015. Two Turkish policemen and seven Islamic State militants were killed in a firefight after police raided more than a dozen houses in Turkey's southeast early on Monday, security sources and government spokesman Numan Kurtulmus said on Monday. The clash took place in the Kayapinar district of the mainly Kurdish city of Diyarbakir. It was the first such shoot-out between Turkish security forces an

Islamic State creeps in on Kurdish stronghold

The discovery of an Islamic State cell in Diyarbakir, Turkey’s main Kurdish city, stokes fears that the extremist group is seeking to further fuel Kurdish-Turkish ethnic tensions.

Forget online dating, now the Turkish government will find you a spouse

Struggling to recover decreasing youth support for the AKP, Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu gambles on the sexual frustration of bachelors by promising to play matchmaker for the desperate.

Turkey reconsiders security priorities

The recent raid on Islamic State safe houses in Diyarbakir has shed light on the organization's activities in Turkey and prompted Turkey to reconsider its top security priorities.

A family takes a stroll next to a reservoir in Myrtoy that will receive fresh water from Turkey via a water pipeline project linking Turkey to northern Cyprus Oct 17 2015. The 106-kilometre (66-mile) pipeline will transport some 75 million cubic metres (2.6 billion cubic feet) of water annually to northern Cyprus, a breakaway Turkish Cypriot state recognized only by Ankara. Cyprus suffers from frequent droughts. REUTERS/Yiannis Kourtoglou - RTS4V5V

Turkey's peace pipe to Cyprus

The water pipeline slated to reunify Cyprus faces strong opposition on environmental, cultural and political fronts from both Greek and Turkish Cypriots.

Supporters of Turkey's Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu attend an election rally in Istanbul, Turkey, October 25, 2015. Turkey's general election will be held on November 1. REUTERS/Osman Orsal - RTX1T4UY

Congress muted ahead of Turkish elections

The US is largely staying silent ahead of this weekend's controversial snap poll.