The highly anticipated trial of Turkey’s Republican People’s Party (CHP) has been postponed until October 24, following a brief but tension-filled session at the 42nd Division of Ankara’s Court of First Instance. Specifically, the trial will determine whether Özgür Özel will remain party president or be removed from office, with either an administrator appointed in his place or former president Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu returning to leadership if the court declares the party’s November 4-5, 2023 congress “null and void.” The related prosecutorial investigation and trial referral were triggered by complaints from party members, including CHP official and former mayor of Alexandretta Lütfü Savaş, regarding vote-buying at the disputed congress where Özel was elected president.
Kılıçdaroğlu, despite calls not to accept the court’s verdict if it annuls the party congress, maintains complete silence. Voices within the party have called for his expulsion; however, Özgür Özel rejected the related proposals. Kılıçdaroğlu himself had provided ammunition for the prosecutorial investigation regarding vote-buying allegations, stating in a television interview that the 2023 congress had “shadows,” demanding explanations from the party’s current leadership and essentially adopting the insinuations of his presidential election opponent Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.
On Sunday, a large mass protest rally by the CHP took place in Ankara, one of the biggest gatherings held weekly since the arrest of CHP Istanbul mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu on March 19.
