Turkey's CHP to hold extraordinary congress after court dismisses Istanbul leadership
Turkey's CHP to hold extraordinary congress after court dismisses Istanbul leadership
Turkey's main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) will hold an extraordinary congress on 21 September after a court dismissed its Istanbul leadership over charges the party says were politically motivated.
Earlier this week, a court annulled the results of the party's October 2023 Istanbul provincial congress, leading to the removal of provincial leader Ozgur Celik and 195 other officials.
The 45th Civil Court of First Instance said that allegations of irregularities in the congress had been "approximately proven".
The court appointed a five-member team to replace the leadership, including former MP Gursel Tekin, who resigned in February 2024 due to the change in national leadership.
News of the ruling caused the Turkish stock market to plunge 5.5 percent.
A source told AFP that the CHP would convene its extraordinary congress amid fears the dismissal of its Istanbul chair could be a precursor to a similar ruling against the national leadership.
Leader Ozgur Ozel and his allies are currently embroiled in a nearly identical legal process that will resume in Ankara on 15 September.
The CHP, Turkey’s largest opposition party, has accused President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) of targeting them after its widespread success in the 2024 local elections.
Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu, a popular opposition leader and upcoming presidential candidate who could potentially challenge Erdogan, was arrested on 19 March.
A number of other CHP mayors, officials and politicians have also been swept up in arrests since then.
The arrests have sparked regular street protests and rallies by opposition leaders and activists, including those unaffiliated with the CHP. Authorities have responded by detaining nearly 2,000 people, most of whom were later released.
Imamoglu’s arrest has galvanised a wide cross-section of Turkish society, who see it as perhaps the final nail in the coffin of an already fragile democracy.
