Tekin takes over as CHP Istanbul chief after expulsion from party

ISTANBUL

Former lawmaker Gürsel Tekin said on Sept. 3 he has assumed his court-appointed role as interim head of the Republican People’s Party’s (CHP) Istanbul branch, one day after the main opposition party expelled him.

“Today, my friends and I began our duties,” Tekin told the daily Sözcü on Sept. 3.

CHP leader Özgür Özel announced Tekin’s expulsion Sept. 2, hours after a court annulled the party’s Istanbul provincial congress held in 2023 and appointed him to lead a temporary administration.

"I don’t want to upset anyone. I didn’t bring the party into this situation. There’s a funeral here. Should we just let it rot?" Tekin said.

"I don't understand why they're bothered by us. We didn't make any effort to take this position. During our term, we will do whatever the CHP's bylaws require."

His remarks came after Özel criticized him for accepting the court appointment. No member of the CHP "can be part of this scheme set up by the palace," Özel said in televised remarks on Halk TV. "We would sever ties with anyone who is part of it."

The chief public prosecutor’s office in Istanbul alleged "voting fraud" occurred during the provincial congress held on Oct. 8, 2023, leading a court to remove CHP's Istanbul head Özgür Çelik and his administration.

Prosecutors are seeking prison terms of one to three years for Çelik, Beyoğlu Mayor İnan Güney, Beşiktaş Mayor Rıza Akpolat and seven others.

Tekin, along with Zeki Şen, Hasan Babacan, Müjdat Gürbüz and Ekran Narsap, was appointed to the temporary administration.

In remarks to broadcaster TV100, Tekin argued that he could not be expelled from the CHP without being allowed a defense.

Justice Minister Yılmaz Tunç said on X that the cancellation of the congress was a precautionary measure "to prevent irreparable damage" during the trial process, stressing it was not a final ruling.

Backed by now-arrested Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu, Çelik won the disputed congress with 342 votes against Cemal Canpolat. The prosecutor’s office opened its probe into the event in March.

Özel was elected CHP leader about a month after the contested Istanbul vote at the party’s 38th ordinary convention. A separate case concerning that congress remains pending.

Tekin, 61, has held several senior roles in the CHP, including secretary-general between 2014 and 2016. He was first appointed to the party’s Istanbul leadership in 2007 and later elected to parliament in 2011, serving multiple terms. He briefly announced his resignation from the CHP in February 2024 before denying it.