Election body reinstates CHP congresses in Istanbul districts

ANKARA

Türkiye’s highest election authority has overturned decisions that canceled the main opposition Republican People’s Party's (CHP) district congresses in Istanbul, allowing the party’s internal elections to proceed as scheduled.

The Supreme Election Council (YSK) on Sept. 5 annuled rulings by district election boards in Sarıyer, Tuzla, Bakırköy, Başakşehir and Ataşehir, which had cited a court order appointing a trustee to oversee the CHP’s Istanbul administration.

The YSK’s decision clears the way for the CHP’s regular congress calendar to proceed as planned.

An Istanbul court on Sept. 2 suspended the party’s provincial leadership and ordered that "election activities in Istanbul and its districts" leading to the party's 39th ordinary convention.

The move followed allegations of “voting fraud” at CHP's Istanbul congress on Oct. 8, 2023, which led to the removal of provincial chair Özgür Çelik and his administration.

The court appointed a five-member temporary committee — Gürsel Tekin, Zeki Şen, Hasan Babacan, Müjdat Gürbüz and Erkan Narsap — to manage the CHP’s Istanbul branch. Tekin, a former lawmaker, was designated as provincial head.

In response, CHP leader Özgür Özel announced expulsion proceedings against Tekin. Meanwhile, Babacan declined to accept his role on the committee.

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.