Turkish Court Suspends CHP Leadership and Orders Chairman’s Return

A Turkish court has suspended the leadership of the country’s main opposition party, the Republican People’s Party (CHP), and ordered the reinstatement of its former chairman, a ruling that has plunged the political opposition into turmoil and triggered significant market volatility. The decision effectively removes current chairman Ozgur Ozel and his administration from their posts.

The Ankara Regional Court of Justice annulled the party’s November 2023 elective congress, where Ozel was elected, citing legal grounds of absolute nullity due to alleged irregularities. The court ruled that all subsequent party congresses and their decisions are also invalid. As a result, former chairman Kemal Kilicdaroglu, who led the party from 2010 until his defeat at the 2023 congress, is to temporarily resume leadership pending a final judicial decision. The party has the right to appeal the ruling to the Court of Cassation within two weeks.

The ruling represents a major escalation in what the CHP describes as a judicial crackdown. Since the party’s strong performance in the 2024 local elections, where it won the largest vote share nationally, hundreds of its members and elected officials have...