Ankara — A Turkish court’s decision on Tuesday to strip Özgür Özel of his position as leader of the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) and annul the party’s 2023 leadership election marks the latest escalation in a systematic campaign by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s government to weaken the country’s largest opposition force. The ruling by the 36th Ankara Regional Court of Appeal, which also reinstated Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu as party chair, came after a protracted legal battle marked by allegations of electoral fraud—allegations the CHP dismisses as politically motivated.
The court’s interim measure, issued on May 21, 2026, not only invalidated the November 4–5, 2023, party congress that elected Özel but also nullified subsequent congresses in 2025 where delegates reaffirmed his leadership. Legal experts describe the decision as unprecedented interference in a political party’s internal affairs, raising serious questions about judicial independence in a country where opposition figures—including Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu, the CHP’s 2023 presidential candidate—have faced politically charged prosecutions. Human Rights Watch condemned the ruling as part of a broader pattern of “undermining civil and political rights and Türkiye’s democratic process,” with Deputy Europe and Central Asia Director Benjamin Ward stating that the move “consolidates the government’s efforts to sideline the main opposition.”
The legal assault on Özel’s leadership began in October 2024, when President Erdoğan publicly questioned the legitimacy of the 2023 congress, accusing Özel of securing his position through irregular means. The following February, the Ankara Public Prosecutor’s Office launched an investigation based on complaints from a faction of disaffected CHP members—though no concrete evidence of fraud was ever presented. The case dragged through the courts for over a year, with the Ankara Administrative Court dismissing the initial complaint in October 2025 after determining that Özel had been re-elected in subsequent congresses. The complainants then appealed to the regional court, which overruled the administrative court’s decision without providing substantive evidence to support its claims.
A separate criminal case, still pending before the Ankara 26th Criminal Court of First Instance, alleges that İmamoğlu and 11 others—including Özel—paid delegates to vote for him at the 2023 congress. The indictment, which relies on vague assertions rather than forensic proof, has been widely criticized as a politically driven effort to discredit the opposition. Legal observers note that the timing of the investigations aligns with the CHP’s resurgence in the March 2024 local elections, where Özel led the party to a historic 37.8% of the national vote—its highest share in two decades and a decisive blow to Erdoğan’s Justice and Development Party (AKP), which lost its majority for the first time since 2002.
Özel’s defiance in the aftermath of the court ruling underscored the stakes. Addressing supporters gathered outside the CHP headquarters in Ankara, he declared that he would not resign and accused the judiciary of orchestrating a “coup against the opposition.” Inside the party building, Kılıçdaroğlu—restored as chair under the court’s order—immediately moved to replace the CHP’s legal team, dismissing the three lawyers who had filed an appeal to the Court of Cassation against the ruling. The new legal team swiftly withdrew that appeal, effectively ending the CHP’s last recourse in the matter.
The swiftness of Kılıçdaroğlu’s actions—including the dismissal of the legal team—has fueled speculation about internal divisions within the CHP. While Kılıçdaroğlu has framed the court’s decision as a restoration of “democratic order,” critics argue that his compliance with the ruling undermines the party’s credibility and plays into the government’s narrative of opposition weakness. Justice Minister Akın Gürlek, who was Istanbul’s chief public prosecutor when the initial investigations against the CHP began in October 2024, described the court’s decision as “consolidating citizens’ trust in democracy.” His appointment to the ministry in February 2026—just months before the ruling—has drawn scrutiny, with opposition lawmakers accusing the government of weaponizing the judiciary.
As of Wednesday, the CHP’s future remains uncertain. Özel’s refusal to step down has created a leadership vacuum, with Kılıçdaroğlu’s authority contested by both the court and a significant portion of the party’s rank-and-file members. The Court of Cassation has yet to rule on whether to hear the CHP’s original appeal, leaving Özel’s fate in legal limbo. Meanwhile, Erdoğan’s government shows no signs of easing its pressure on the opposition, with ongoing prosecutions targeting CHP mayors and officials on similarly baseless charges. The European Union, which has repeatedly urged Türkiye to uphold democratic norms, has not yet issued a public response to the latest development, though diplomats are reported to be monitoring the situation closely.
