Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan received a major boost on Thursday when an appeals court in Ankara annulled the congress that elected Ozgur Özel as leader of the opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP).
Özel was elected CHP chairman at the party’s 2023 congress, taking over from former opposition leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu, a 77-year-old politician seen as little threat to Erdogan’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP).
However, under Özel, the CHP is running head-to-head with the AKP, while Özel himself became the face of mass street protests in March 2025 following the arrest and imprisonment of former Istanbul mayor and CHP presidential candidate Ekrem Imamoglu.
Last year, a court ruled for the first time that the preliminary case against the 2023 CHP congress had no merit.
But an appeals court overturned it on Thursday and declared the vote invalid due to apparent irregularities, including allegations that Özel secured his election through promises of jobs and other perks.
The court temporarily suspended Özel and the party’s executive board members, appointing Kılıçdaroğlu in their place, who in turn asked party members to remain calm.
“Our party is a very big party and it will solve its problems internally,” he said.
Turkish opposition leader Özel: ‘We will not give up!’
However, Özel attempted to unite supporters.
“we will not give up!” He vowed to continue the fight on social media immediately after the verdict. “I am not promising you a path to power through a rose garden; I am promising you the ability to endure suffering but never give up. I am promising you honor, respect, courage, and struggle!”
But the ruling, the latest in a series of legal cases targeting CHP members and elected officials, has disorganized the opposition and sent Turkey’s stock market tumbling.
Following the decision, the party called an emergency meeting of its senior leadership at its Ankara headquarters, where hundreds of flag-waving activists gathered chanting protest slogans.
Meanwhile, Istanbul’s BIST 100, Turkey’s main stock index, fell more than 6%, triggering a market-wide circuit breaker.
The next presidential election in Türkiye is not scheduled until 2028 when Erdogan will seek to extend his two-decade term in office.
Edited by: Shawn Sinico