A senior representative of Turkey’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) at the country’s top election authority has said a court cannot legally annul the Republican People’s Party’s (CHP) 2023 leadership vote, Turkish Minute reported, citing remarks published by the Nefes daily on Saturday.
Recep Özel, who represents the AKP at the Supreme Election Council (YSK), said any attempt by a civil court to overturn a YSK-validated leadership vote would “upend the entire system” and violate constitutional provisions governing election law.
This adds a new layer of controversy to the politically charged case that could see former CHP leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu return to power.
The CHP, Turkey’s main opposition party, is bracing for a major leadership crisis as a court prepares to rule on whether to annul the party’s 2023 congress that brought current chairman Özgür Özel to the top position.
Former party leader Kılıçdaroğlu, who lost the chairmanship after 13 years in office, has signaled that he would accept a court-mandated return — despite growing opposition from within the party’s leadership, elected mayors and rank-and-file members.
The political stakes are high. If the Ankara court issues a ruling of “absolute nullity,” the results of the November 2023 congress would be void, and Kılıçdaroğlu — along with the former party assembly — would be reinstated by default. That scenario, critics warn, could fracture the opposition, weaken its support for jailed İstanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu and open a path for President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan to eliminate his most formidable rival.
Kılıçdaroğlu, in closed-door meetings with CHP officials, reportedly dismissed concerns over internal backlash, saying, “[Members of] the party organization will oppose [my return] for a few days, then everything will return to normal.” He reiterated criticism over the party’s rallies in support of İmamoğlu, calling them inappropriate and describing the mayor’s situation as “a matter between him and the law.”
His remarks further deepened concerns within the party that Kılıçdaroğlu may be out of touch with the current political climate and potentially enabling a government-backed judicial maneuver to regain control of the CHP.
CHP Chairman Özel, who unseated Kılıçdaroğlu in 2023, warned that the party could not be hijacked by a court decision or return to the control of an unelected official.
“There will be no nullification, no trustee,” Özel said. “Even if there is, we will not hand the party over to someone not chosen by the delegates.”
Since Özel’s election, the CHP has seen a historic surge in support. In the March 2024 local elections, the party received a plurality of the national vote for the first time in 47 years and has consistently led in nationwide polling since then, frequently outperforming Erdoğan’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) in hypothetical general election scenarios.
The possibility of the court nullifying the congress is widely seen by critics as part of a broader effort by Erdoğan to weaken the opposition and ensure that no viable challenger emerges ahead of the next presidential race. İmamoğlu, who has defeated Erdoğan’s candidates in İstanbul three times since 2019, is considered the most popular and electorally potent figure in the opposition.
The debate over Kılıçdaroğlu’s intentions has also sparked strong reactions from other senior party figures. Ankara Mayor Mansur Yavaş, Mersin Mayor Vahap Seçer and CHP Assembly Member Engin Özkoç all met with Kılıçdaroğlu in recent days, urging him to reach a preemptive resolution with Özel before the court ruling. According to reports, Kılıçdaroğlu refused to meet with the current chairman until after the decision.
During the same meetings, Kılıçdaroğlu reportedly said he would not seek re-election if the party convened a new congress following the court’s decision. However, he declined suggestions to immediately call for a new congress, a step that Özel’s supporters say would avert a damaging power struggle and protect the party from further political interference.
Former CHP leader Hikmet Çetin, who served as interim chairman in the 1990s, also condemned the court case and warned he would “stand at the door” of party headquarters to block any imposed leadership change, including one involving Kılıçdaroğlu. “I would never allow it,” Çetin said in an interview, calling the case an assault on the party’s democratic structure.
Analysts say the internal power struggle, coupled with the party’s most prominent figure being jailed, threatens to derail the opposition’s momentum and hand Erdoğan a critical advantage. Kılıçdaroğlu’s willingness to comply with a judicial reversal of the party congress, his public criticism of pro-İmamoğlu rallies and his interview with a pro-government media outlet have raised concerns that he may be enabling efforts to sideline İmamoğlu and prevent him from running as the opposition’s candidate in the next presidential election.
“The CHP is not a party to be taken over,” İmamoğlu wrote in an earlier message from prison. “The decision to invalidate our congress concerns not just the CHP, but every voter in Turkey, because it serves one purpose: to prevent the opposition from winning the next election.”
The court is expected to hold its next hearing on June 30. While a ruling on that day is not guaranteed, many in Ankara’s political circles believe a decision has already been shaped behind the scenes — one that could determine not only the future of the CHP but the broader trajectory of Turkey’s democracy.
