Court strips Turkey's opposition leader, reinstating his predecessor
An Istanbul court annuls the CHP's 2023 congress, unseating Özgür Özel and bringing back Kılıçdaroğlu — judicial pressure on Erdoğan's main rival party deepens
Summary
An Istanbul appeals court on 21-22 May annulled the CHP's November 2023 leadership congress over alleged vote-buying, unseating elected leader Özgür Özel and reinstating predecessor Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu. Prosecutors allege Özel secured the leadership "with promises of jobs and kickbacks." The ruling sent Turkish stocks sharply lower and triggered protests, notably in İzmir; more than 800 CHP delegates filed petitions demanding an extraordinary congress, with Özel saying the party "cannot be governed under an imposed leadership." It lands amid a wider judicial campaign against the opposition — the jailing of Istanbul mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu and a 16 June wave of arrests in CHP-run municipalities including Silivri's mayor — and ahead of a constitutional push that Recep Tayyip Erdogan needs the opposition fractured to pass.
By the numbers
- 21-22 May 2026 — appeals court annuls the CHP's 2023 congress.
- 800+ — CHP delegates petitioning for an extraordinary congress.
- 16 June 2026 — Silivri mayor and 9 others arrested in a parallel probe.
- 2028 — next scheduled presidential race the CHP is being weakened ahead of.
Why it matters
Decapitating the main opposition by court order, rather than at the ballot box, removes a coordinated rival just as Erdoğan seeks the supermajority for a new constitution and a possible fourth term. A CHP consumed by an internal leadership war is one less obstacle to both.
What to watch
- Whether an extraordinary congress reinstates Özel or entrenches the split.
- Market reaction and any further arrests in CHP municipalities.
- How the leadership vacuum affects the İmamoğlu defence and the constitution fight.