Turkish court ousts CHP leadership amid opposition crackdown

ANKARA — A Turkish court on Thursday annulled the 2023 leadership vote that brought Ozgur Ozel to the helm of Turkey’s main opposition Republican People’s Party, effectively removing the current CHP leadership and opening the way for former party leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu’s return.

The ruling marks a major escalation in the legal crackdown on the CHP, which has already been hit by the imprisonment of Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu, its presidential candidate, and a wave of probes, detentions and dismissals targeting opposition-run municipalities.

The trial stems from allegations of vote-rigging at the CHP’s November 2023 congress, where Ozel defeated longtime chair Kilicdaroglu and took over the party leadership.

Critics of the government say the crackdown is politically motivated and aimed at weakening the country’s main opposition party after it won the largest vote share in the 2024 local elections, becoming Turkey’s top-voted party.

The CHP called an emergency meeting of its party assembly after the decision, Turkish broadcaster Haberturk reported.

This is a breaking story and will be updated.