ISTANBUL (AP) — A standoff between the chairman of Turkey’s main opposition party and his predecessor, who was reappointed by court order, escalated Friday.An appeals court in the capital of Ankara on Thursday nullified the November 2023 party congress of the Republican Peoples’ Party, or CHP. At the congress, Ozgur Ozel was elected to replace then-chairman Kemal Kilicdaroglu. The appeals court’s decision suspended Ozel and members of the party’s executive board from their duties. They will be “provisionally” replaced by Kilicdaroglu and those who held office before the November 2023 congress.The opposition claims the decision was politically motivated.Last year, a lower court ruled against claims of irregularities and misconduct surrounding Ozel’s election but Thursday’s decision overturned the original verdict.The government defended the case against the CHP, arguing the allegations of corruption during the party congress come from party members. They included most notably former Antakya Mayor Lutfu Savas, who was expelled from the party over disciplinary issues in December 2024 and filed the case to overturn the November 2023 party congress two months later.
The CHP immediately appealed Thursday’s ruling, which was rejected by the court Friday. An appeal to the Supreme Election Council was similarly rejected in the evening, but an appeal to the Supreme Court by Ozel was accepted.
