Ex-CHP delegates ask court to halt ongoing congress votes

ANKARA

Plaintiffs have asked an Ankara court to invalidate recent provincial congress elections held as part of the main opposition Republican People’s Party's (CHP) run-up to its 39th regular convention.

The petition — filed by former Hatay Mayor Lütfü Savaş and other former delegates — cites a separate lawsuit seeking to annul the result of the CHP’s November 2023 convention on the grounds of alleged vote rigging. That convention brought Özgür Özel to the party leadership.

They claim the current CHP leadership "seized power through unlawful means" and that any congress held under its control would be "flawed." Özel has since been reelected twice at extraordinary conventions in attempts to neutralize the ongoing judicial process.

The plaintiffs are also seeking the provisional removal of the current CHP administration "to protect public order,” the annulment of the last two extraordinary conventions and the reinstatement of former leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu and his team.

A similar dispute has unfolded in Istanbul. The city’s CHP chair, Özgür Çelik, who was dismissed for the same alleged irregularities, was twice reelected — most recently on Oct. 19 in provincial voting ahead of the next convention.

Another lawsuit demanding a "declaration of absolute nullity" of the 2023 convention is set for Oct. 24, though CHP officials say Özel’s reelection has resolved the matter.

The case alleges that ousted Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu — who chaired the 2023 convention council — and others colluded in irregular practices to disadvantage certain delegates. İmamoğlu, the party’s presidential candidate, has been jailed since March on corruption charges.

The CHP maintains that the legal challenges are politically driven. Since March, the party has held twice-weekly demonstrations to call for İmamoğlu’s release and demand early elections. Türkiye is not scheduled to hold a general vote until 2028.