AP —
A Turkish court on Thursday invalidated the 2023 parliament that elected the country’s main opposition leader, effectively removing him from office.
The move is a severe blow to the Republican People’s Party (CHP), which is struggling with a wave of lawsuits targeting its members and elected officials.
An appeals court in Turkey’s capital, Ankara, declared the CHP parliament that elected Ozgur Ozer as speaker invalid and ordered him to be replaced by his predecessor, Kemal Kilikdaroglu.
Last year, a lower court ruled against Ozer’s claims of election fraud and misconduct, but Thursday’s ruling overturns that earlier ruling.
The ruling sparked a frenzied meeting at the CHP’s Ankara headquarters and further threatened the opposition’s ability to remove President Recep Tayyip Erdogan after more than two decades in office. A large crowd gathered outside the office complex, and police set up a fence.
The next presidential election is scheduled for 2028, but President Erdogan may call for early voting. His main challenger, CHP Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu, has been imprisoned since March last year and is currently on trial on corruption charges.
As a result of the Court of Appeal’s decision, Ozer and members of the party’s executive committee will be suspended from their duties. They will be replaced “on an interim basis” by Mr. Kilikdaroglu and others who will be in office until the November 2023 parliament.
In comments to broadcaster TV100, Kilikdaroglu called on party members to remain calm. “Our party is a very large party and we will solve our own problems within the party,” he said. The 77-year-old was ousted after 13 years as party leader, during which the CHP failed to win national elections.
Ozer, meanwhile, tried to rally his supporters. After the verdict, he posted on X: “I don’t promise a path to power through a rose garden.” “I promise you the ability to endure suffering and never surrender. I promise you honor, dignity, courage, and struggle!”
The CHP plans to challenge Thursday’s ruling in the Supreme Court in the coming days.
Justice Minister Akin Gurrek, who oversaw several cases against the CHP as Istanbul’s prosecutor general, said the court’s decision “strengthens public confidence in democracy.”
Many officials say the cases against the CHP, which mainly revolve around corruption charges, are politically motivated and aimed at crippled the party ahead of the next election. But the government insists Turkish courts are impartial and act independently of political pressure.
President Erdogan has ruled Turkey since 2003, first as prime minister and then as president. His electoral record suffered a serious blow in 2019, when the CHP seized control of several major cities in local elections. In Istanbul, İmamoğlu emerged as a popular and charismatic figure, and many felt he could successfully defeat Erdoğan.
