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A court has halted the İstanbul provincial congress of the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) held in 2023, ordering the dismissal of Provincial Chair Özgür Çelik and his executive board.
The İstanbul 45th Civil Court of First Instance announced in its interim verdict that allegations of irregularities in the congress had been “approximately proven,” and suspended the provincial chair, executive board, and disciplinary board members elected at the congress from their posts.
The provincial congress was part of the process that led to the party’s 2023 general congress, which saw a change in leadership after 14 years. Now both processes are under judicial scrutiny, which could potentially end in the removal of the current party leadership.
In Turkey’s political system, local delegates elected at the provincial congress stage go on to form part of the national delegate body, which ultimately votes to choose the party leader. As the province with the largest number of delegates, İstanbul plays a key role in determining the party leadership.
Former MP Gürsel Tekin has been appointed as interim head of the CHP’s İstanbul organization. He had announced his resignation from the party in Feb 2024 following the leadership change, citing that the CHP had “moved away from its founding principles.” It’s not clear whether Tekin proceeded with his resignation.
Zeki Şen, Hasan Babacan, Müjdat Gürbüz, and Erkan Narsap will join Tekin in the temporary board leading the organization.
The ruling also temporarily suspended the duties of 196 congress delegates and halted the ongoing congress process in the province.
Following the decision, Tekin made his first statement on social media, saying, “I am a student of the CHP, a party founded on the battlefields. In such difficult times, protecting unity and solidarity within the party is our foremost duty.”
The İstanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office launched the investigation in March, following claims of fraud was committed during the Oct 2023 congress.
Reactions
In response to today’s verdict, the CHP leadership has called an emergency meeting.
Also responding to the ruling in a social media statement, Çelik said, “I am heading to our İstanbul Provincial Office to follow and manage the process. The Republican People’s Party is the people, it is the people’s home, the family hearth. It cannot be taken over!”
CHP parliamentary group deputy chair Ali Mahir Başarır also commented on the decision via social media, saying, “This ruling is a clear coup against our democracy. We will continue our legal and political struggle against those who seek to usurp our will through judicial means.”
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Another case centers on the party’s general congress held in Nov 2023, where Özgür Özel was elected party leader, defeating longtime chair Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu.
If that process is also annulled, it could affect the position of current party leader Özgür Özel.
These cases have widely been debated, with some observers aligned with the CHP arguing that the government is attempting to use the judiciary to remove the party’s current leadership and reinstall Kılıçdaroğlu.
Özel rose to the party’s top post with the backing of prominent CHP figure Ekrem İmamoğlu, the İstanbul mayor who has been suspended from his post and imprisoned on corruption charges since March.
Since İmamoğlu’s detention, which caused nationwide protests in March, the CHP has faced a broad crackdown, with multiple corruption investigations launched against its municipalities. The mayors of the metropolitan cities of Antalya and Adana, along with 12 district mayors, have been suspended from office.
The CHP sees these moves as part of the government’s efforts to undermine its gains in the 2024 local elections, where the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) suffered its most significant loss in 23 years in power. (VK)