Turkish Appeals Court Ousts CHP Leader Özgür Özel, Orders Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu Replacement

An appeals court in Ankara annulled the congress that elected Özgür Özel as leader of the Republican People’s Party (CHP), declaring the 2023 leadership election null and void and ordering Özel’s replacement by Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu.

“Turkish opposition fights court ousting of leaders in ruling boosting Erdoğan Turkish opposition leader Özgür Özel has vowed to fight a court ruling removing him and fellow party leaders, in the latest legal move that helps cement President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's grip on power”

BBC

DW said the ruling annuls the CHP leadership vote and suspended Özel, describing it as a boost for President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, while the BBC reported that thousands of demonstrators gathered outside party headquarters in Ankara after the court decision.

BBC

The BBC said the appeals court overturned a 2025 ruling by a lower court that had thrown out allegations of vote buying during the CHP primary, and it also said the ruling means the party’s entire executive is replaced and its decisions are no longer recognised.

The Guardian reported that the court ordered Özel, 51, to be replaced by Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, and it said the ruling jolted Turkey’s struggling economy as trading was briefly suspended in Istanbul amid a 6% drop in share prices.

Özel vowed to challenge the ruling, telling the BBC, "We are experiencing a dark day for Turkish democracy," and he said he would fight in the courts and with Turkey's supreme election council (YSK).

The BBC also quoted Özel condemning the decision as a "judicial coup" and said the CHP’s executive rejected the court's authority.

DW

DW described Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu calling for calm, saying, "Our party is a very large party and it will solve its own problems internally," after the court provisionally replaced the suspended leadership.

The Guardian reported that Erdoğan responded by calling the main opposition leader "delusional" and said, "We have to protect the reputation of politics in the face of attacks."

The BBC said the supreme election council was meeting on Friday to hear the opposition party's objection to the court's decision, while it also reported that any legal action challenging the ruling in Turkey's Court of Cassation is expected to drag on.

“Advertisement Supported by A surprise judgment replaced the leader of Turkey’s main opposition party with a former leader known for losing elections”

New York Times

DW reported that Istanbul's BIST 100 fell by more than 6% and triggered a market-wide circuit breaker, and it said the next presidential election in Turkey isn't scheduled until 2028 when Erdogan would be looking to extend his two-decade tenure.

The Guardian said more than 20 CHP mayors have been detained on corruption, bribery and terrorism-related charges, and it described Ekrem İmamoğlu’s arrest as a watershed for the party and for the country’s beleaguered opposition.

In a separate development, the BBC said President Erdoğan ordered the closure of Istanbul's independent Bilgi University, and it quoted law professor Yaman Akdeniz saying, "An institution where I've taught for 15 years, one we've nurtured alongside thousands of young people, is being disregarded."