Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan scored a significant legal victory on Thursday when an appeals court in Ankara annulled the 2023 party congress that elected Ozgur Ozel as leader of the opposition Republican People's Party (CHP). The court cited irregularities, including allegations that Ozel secured his election through promises of jobs and other perks.

The ruling suspended Ozel and members of the party's executive board, provisionally replacing them with former leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu, who called for calm. “Our party is a very large party and it will solve its own problems internally,” he said.

Ozel, however, vowed to fight the decision. “We will not give in!” he pledged on social media. “I am not promising you a path to power through a rose garden; I am promising you the ability to endure suffering but never surrender. I am promising you honor, dignity, courage and struggle!”

The ruling has thrown the opposition into disarray. The CHP called an emergency meeting at its Ankara headquarters, where hundreds of flag-waving activists gathered chanting defiant slogans. The Turkish stock market also tumbled, with the BIST 100 index falling over 6%, triggering a market-wide circuit breaker.

Ozel was elected CHP chairman in 2023, replacing the 77-year-old Kilicdaroglu, who was considered a weak opponent for Erdogan. Under Ozel, the CHP has polled neck-and-neck with the ruling AKP, and he became the face of massive street protests in March 2025 following the arrest of former Istanbul mayor and CHP presidential candidate Ekrem Imamoglu.

The next presidential election in Turkey is not scheduled until 2028, when Erdogan will be looking to extend his two-decade tenure in office.

Source: www.dw.com