Court removes leadership of Turkey's main opposition party
The Ankara Regional Court of Justice 36th Civil Chamber ordered the temporary removal of Chairman Özgür Özel and the party administration in the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP).
The court also ruled that former leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu and his executive team take over the party leadership.
The case has been ongoing over allegations of irregularities, including vote-buying, during the party congress held in Nov 2023, where the new leader and management were elected.
The court also annulled an extraordinary congress held by the CHP in September while this case was ongoing, which aimed to secure the leadership's position regardless of the trial's outcome.
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Kılıçdaroğlu welcomes decision
Kılıçdaroğlu welcomed the decision, telling the pro-government broadcaster TGRT Haber, "May it be beneficial for the party."
Yesterday, he released a video on social media criticizing the current leadership and calling for "cleansing."
Throughout the process, Kılıçdaroğlu and party figures close to him publicly accused the current administration of wrongdoing on several occasions, regarding both the party congress and a widespread corruption crackdown on party-run municipalities, which saw more than 30 mayors suspended and arrested.
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The CHP leadership views these legal processes as politically motivated, describing them as an attempt to take revenge on the party after its success in the 2024 local elections, where it managed to significantly surpass the ruling AKP for the first time in its 24-year rule.
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Background
The case traces back to a shift in the leadership of the CHP following the 2023 presidential and parliamentary election.
Kılıçdaroğlu was held responsible within the party for the defeat, after running and losing against President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in what was widely seen as the most challenging election for him in two decades amid deepening economic troubles.
Following the election, 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 chair in 14 years.
The faction that lost control of the party challenged the congress results, filing multiple complaints over alleged irregularities. In Feb 2025, investigations were opened into the İstanbul provincial congress and the national congress, where the respective administrations were elected. Separately, İmamoğlu was arrested in Mar 2025 on corruption-related charges and suspended from office.
In Jan 2024, the Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor's Office launched an investigation into the offense of rigging a vote, regulated under Article 112 of the Political Parties Law No. 2820.
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Former Hatay Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Lütfü Savaş and several former congress delegates filed separate lawsuits in civil courts of first instance, claiming that the will of the delegates at the congress was compromised through money, benefits, and promises of office. They requested the annulment of the 38th Ordinary Congress and the removal of the party organs elected at the congress. These annulment lawsuits 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.
On the criminal dimension of the process, the Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor's Office completed its investigation and prepared an indictment on Jun 3, 2025. Former chair Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu was listed as an aggrieved party and Lütfü Savaş as a complainant in the indictment, which sought prison sentences ranging from one to three years for 12 individuals, including İmamoğlu, on charges of rigging a vote.
In the civil case, the Ankara 42nd Civil Court of First Instance took into account both the developments in the criminal file and the subsequent congresses held by the CHP during the trial. The CHP holding its 21st Extraordinary Congress on Apr 6, 2025, and its 22nd Extraordinary Congress on Sep 21, 2025, as well as extraordinary provincial congress process in İstanbul, to preserve the leadership regardless of the outcome of the annullment case.
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 lawsuit filed for the annulment of the 2023 congress, 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 CHP’s 21st 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, stating that 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 ordered the temporary removal of Özel and the party administration, and ruled that Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu and his executive team take over the leadership.
Details to follow...
