Turkish Court Overturns Opposition Leadership Election, Appoints Interim Head
An Ankara appeals court has annulled the 2023 leadership election of Turkey's main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP), removing Özgür Özel from his post as party leader and appointing former chairman Kemal Kilicdaroglu as interim head. The decision, handed down on Thursday, has thrown the opposition into disarray and triggered accusations of judicial interference.
According to multiple reports, the court ruled that the 2023 congress which elected Özel was invalid due to irregularities, including allegations of vote-buying. The court's decision overturns a 2025 lower court ruling that had dismissed the case.
Özel, who had led the CHP since 2023, reacted defiantly, vowing to fight the ruling. "We will not give in!" he wrote on social media, promising "honor, dignity, courage and struggle." He later accused Turkey's leaders of a "judicial coup," a phrase echoed by the party itself, which rejected the ruling as an "attempted coup."
Kilicdaroglu, a 77-year-old party veteran who lost to Özel in the 2023 election, appealed for calm, saying, "Our party is a very large party and it will solve its own problems internally."
The ruling has been widely seen as a move to consolidate President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's grip on power. Under Özel, the CHP had been polling neck-and-neck with Erdogan's ruling AK Party, and Özel became a prominent figure in protests following the arrest of Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu in 2025.
On Sunday, riot police forced their way into the CHP headquarters in Ankara, using tear gas and breaking through barricades, after the party had vowed to defy the court order. Özel described the police intervention as an attack, and later emerged from the building to lead supporters toward parliament.
The government has denied accusations of using courts to target political opponents. Justice Minister Akin Gürlek insisted the ruling "reinforces our citizens' trust in democracy."
Human Rights Watch warned that the government was undermining Turkish democracy with "abusive tactics" against the CHP.
The decision has raised concerns about the future of the opposition and the health of Turkish democracy. The CHP's senior leadership has called an emergency meeting, and the party has appealed to Turkey's supreme election council.
The ruling has also sent the Turkish stock market tumbling, reflecting broader anxieties about political instability.
As Turkey faces economic challenges and increasing political polarization, the court's decision marks a significant moment in the country's political landscape. Whether the opposition can regroup under Kilicdaroglu or find a path to challenge the ruling in the courts remains uncertain.