Turkey’s main opposition re-elects leader in emergency congress ‘to prevent judicial takeover’

The main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) re-elected its chair, Özgür Özel, in an emergency congress held in Ankara today. Özel, the sole candidate, secured another term in a vote designed to shield the party from the risk of a court-appointed trustee.

The extraordinary congress was convened after a court case challenging the legitimacy of the CHP’s Nov 2023 congress, in which Özel unseated long-time leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu. Members of the losing faction had alleged irregularities, including vote-buying, and filed lawsuits seeking annulment. The case was last heard on Sep 15 and adjourned until October.

In a procedural move, delegates first cast a vote of no confidence against Özel and the party’s executive board elected in the contested 2023 congress. They then immediately re-elected him and his team in what was a legal move to nullify the annulment case.

Özel emphasized this point during his speech at the congress. “The vote of no confidence you are about to cast is against the games played by the [government] over justice,” he told delegates before the ballot. “It is a vote of no confidence against the conspiracy against our party. I ask you to vote no confidence in the AK Party’s judiciary branches and then move on to the election.”

The congress also heard a message from İstanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu, who is currently in pre-trial detention over corruption charges and suspended from office.

“He oppresses with poverty and unemployment, with inequality and injustice. But if the oppressor has oppression, the oppressed also have dignity, conscience, reason, and hope,” İmamoğlu wrote, apparently referring to President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.

The CHP leadership argues that corruption probes targeting its municipalities and lawsuits against its congresses are attempts by the government to weaken the party ahead of future elections.

The annulment case was adjourned to October after its latest hearing on Sep 15.

In addition to the national congress case, lawsuits have also been filed against the CHP’s 2023 İstanbul provincial congress. In one case, a court imposed a temporary injunction on Sep 4, suspending the provincial leadership. Another court dismissed a similar case.

Because of the ongoing legal disputes, delegates from the İstanbul congress were not permitted to vote in today’s session.

The CHP decided on Sep 21 to convene the extraordinary congress with the signatures of 1,000 delegates, seeking to preempt the possibility of a trustee appointment.

Since its founding, the CHP has held 59 congresses, 38 of them ordinary. Former party chairs Hikmet Çetin and Murat Karayalçın attended Sunday’s congress, while Kılıçdaroğlu, who was invited, did not. (VK)