Özel calls on high court to reverse CHP convention ruling
Ousted main opposition leader Özgür Özel has said the Republican People’s Party (CHP) is awaiting a high court decision on an appeal against a ruling that annulled its 2023 leadership convention, urging authorities to reverse what he called a “historic mistake.”
“Our eyes and ears are on the Court of Appeals on Monday [July 20]. Either the Court of Appeals will reverse this historic mistake, or it will leave this blow to the nation’s hopes for power unaddressed until the fall,” Özel told supporters in the central province of Kırıkkale.
He was referring to the start of Türkiye’s judicial recess on July 20, which will continue until September and during which courts generally operate with reduced activity.
The case was sent to the Court of Appeals after an Ankara regional court processed an appeal against a lower court ruling that declared the CHP’s November 2023 convention “absolutely void.” Özel won the convention’s leadership race, defeating longtime party leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu.
