# 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

**Meta:** type: event · date: 2026-06-24 · heads: Quem decide, O que quebrou · 7 takes · 1 lenses · 6 regions

## Summary

An Istanbul appeals court on 21-22 May annulled the [CHP](/pt/entity/turkey)'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](/pt/n/erdogan-imamoglu-espionage-trial) 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](/pt/entity/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.

## Regional takes (batched by bias / lens)

### unlabelled
- **Al Jazeera** (Qatar, en) — Process-focused account: an Istanbul appeals court annulled the CHP's November 2023 leadership congress over alleged vote-buying, unseating elected leader Özgür Özel and reinstating Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, with the CHP framing it as judicial weaponisation.
  > "A Turkish court ousts the leader of the main opposition CHP, annulling its 2023 congress over alleged vote-buying."
  Source: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/5/22/turkish-court-ousts-leader-of-main-opposition-party
- **TIME** (United States, en) — Reads the move as overreach signalling weakness — that Erdoğan is 'running out of tricks' and resorting to courts because the CHP's electoral strength can't be beaten at the ballot box.
  > "The court move suggests Erdoğan is 'running out of tricks' against a rising opposition."
  Source: https://time.com/article/2026/06/16/erdogan-turkey-opposition-ozgur-ozel/
- **Euronews** (Europe, en) — 
  Source: https://www.euronews.com/2026/05/21/turkish-court-annuls-leadership-of-main-opposition-chp-party-sparking-turmoil
- **Courthouse News** (United States, en) — 
  Source: https://www.courthousenews.com/fresh-arrests-target-turkeys-opposition-run-municipalities/
- **The Conversation** (United Kingdom, en) — 
  Source: https://theconversation.com/turkish-democracy-on-trial-how-erdogans-rule-has-undermined-justice-and-weakened-his-rivals-283986
- **Turkish Minute** (Turkey, en) — 
  Source: https://www.turkishminute.com/2026/06/16/turkey-arrests-another-opposition-mayor-as-probes-into-chp-run-municipalities-continue/
- **Stockholm Center for Freedom** (Sweden, en) — 
  Source: https://stockholmcf.org/turkey-arrests-another-opposition-mayor-as-probes-into-chp-run-municipalities-continue/

## Across the graph
- Related: [[erdogan-imamoglu-espionage-trial]], [[eu-turkey-report-sanctions]], [[erdogan-east-med-encirclement]]
- Entities: Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Turkey

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Canonical: https://rbtfl.xyz/pt/n/erdogan-chp-ozel-ousted