CHP's appeals against leadership removal rejected as Kılıçdaroğlu set to take office
An Ankara court and the Supreme Election Council (YSK) have rejected appeals by the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) against yesterday's judicial decision that removed the current leadership and temporarily reinstated former chair Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu.
The 36th Civil Chamber of the Ankara Regional Court of Justice, which handed down the ruling yesterday over alleged irregularities during the 2023 congress, including vote buying, rejected the CHP headquarters' request to lift the interim injunction.
Separately, the YSK convened to review an appeal against ruling concerning the congress where Özgür Özel was elected. The electoral board also rejected the appeal following its meeting.
The Özel administration will take the case to the Court of Cassation, the top appeals court.
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Atakan Sönmez, the press advisor for Kılıçdaroğlu, confirmed that the former leader would return to the party headquarters.
"Mr. Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu will go to the Republican People’s Party headquarters. Have no doubt about this," Sönmez told reporters outside Kılıçdaroğlu's office. Özel had said after the court ruling that he would refuse to leave the headquarters.
"The duties of Mr. Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, the Party Assembly, and all other organs did not begin with the notification just now. Their duty already started the moment yesterday's court decision became final. Today's procedure is a necessary action for the completion of the official protocol. The Party Assembly determined by the 37th Congress and all councils elected there have officially started their duties as of yesterday."
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Later in the day, Kılıçdaroğlu changed his bio on X to "Chairperson of the Republican People's Party."
His reinstatement is temporary, as he will lead the party to a new congress to replace the one that was annulled.
Background
The case traces back to a shift in the leadership of the CHP following the 2023 presidential and parliamentary election, where Recep Tayyip Erdoğan secured his third term as the president.
Kılıçdaroğlu was held responsible within the party for the defeat, after running and losing against Erdoğan in what was widely seen as the most challenging election for him in two decades amid deepening economic troubles.
Following the election loss, İstanbul's now-suspended mayor and a prominent figure in the party, Ekrem İmamoğlu, launched a “change” movement within the party, opposing Kılıçdaroğlu’s continued leadership. Özgür Özel, backed by İmamoğlu, defeated Kılıçdaroğlu at the Nov 2023 congress, becoming the party’s first new leader in 14 years.
Members of the faction that lost control of the party challenged the congress results, alleging irregularities such as buying delegates' votes with cash and party posts. In Feb 2025, an investigation was opened into the congress. Separately, İmamoğlu was arrested in Mar 2025 on corruption-related charges and suspended from office.
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Annulment cases filed by various members of the party were merged into a single file at the Ankara 42nd Civil Court of First Instance on Feb 14, 2025, and the court held the first hearing on Apr 17, 2025.
There were two dimensions to the case, with one focusing on the criminal elements and the other on the procedural aspects of the party congress. Regarding the criminal aspect, the Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor's Office indicted 12 individuals, including İmamoğlu, for rigging a vote on Jun 3, 2025, seeking prison sentences from one to three years.
On Oct 24, 2025, the Ankara 42nd Civil Court of First Instance ruled that there was no need to render a judgment on the merits regarding the case, on the grounds that the case had become moot. The court also dismissed the merged files, which included the request for the annulment of the Sep 2025 extraordinary congress, due to a lack of hostility. In the 22-page reasoned decision announced on Nov 10, 2025, the court noted that party organs were re-elected at the new congresses and conventions, and that these elections were certified by district election boards, therefore no legal interest remained regarding the old congresses whose annulment was sought.
The decision was subsequently appealed. Examining the file, the Ankara Regional Court of Justice 36th Civil Chamber on May 21 ordered the temporary removal of Özel and the party administration, and ruled that Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu and his executive team take over the leadership.
(VK)
