An Ankara court on Thursday annulled the 2023 leadership election of Turkey’s main opposition CHP party in a sharp escalation against the country’s embattled opposition.
It is the latest in a string of legal moves targeting the Republican People’s Party, Turkey’s oldest party that won a huge victory over President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s ruling AKP in the 2024 local elections and has been rising in the polls.
The ruling overturned the result of a leadership election that brought in current party head Ozgur Ozel — and ordered that the party’s former chair, Kemal Kilicdaroglu — who lost the election to Ozel — take over as interim leader.
The party immediately called an emergency leadership meeting at its Ankara headquarters, where hundreds of angry demonstrators raised their fists in the air, shouting: “Traitor Kemal!” footage from the scene showed.
The news prompted a sharp reaction on Istanbul’s BIST 100, Turkey’s main stock exchange, which tumbled more than six percent.
The case concerns allegations of vote buying at the CHP congress in November 2023, with prosecutors alleging that Ozel won by putting pressure on certain delegates with promises of jobs and other kickbacks.
The case was opened by the Ankara public prosecutor in February 2025, but thrown out in October on grounds it had no substance.
But prosecutors appealed the ruling, with the court finding in their favour.
In a statement on X, CHP said it did not “recognise nor accept the unlawful decision” by the court, pledging: “The struggle continues.”
“We will not give in!” Ozel said in a separate post, vowing to continue the struggle with “honour, dignity and courage”.
‘Dark day’ 
The CHP has denied all the charges, accusing the government of using the judiciary to carry out a “political coup”.
Critics say the case is one of many politically motivated attempts to hobble the CHP.
Last year, Kilicdaroglu said he would be willing to take on the party leadership if the court overturned the primary result, sparking uproar within the CHP where he remains deeply unpopular.