The ousted leader of Turkey’s main opposition party called on Saturday for a new party congress to be held as soon as possible – in some 40 days – after a court ruling this week unseated its leadership, fuelling a political crisis.
A Turkish appeals court on Thursday annulled the results of a 2023 congress of the Republican People’s Party (CHP), at which Ozel was elected, citing unspecified irregularities. In his place, the court reinstated former CHP Chairman Kemal Kilicdaroglu, a divisive figure who lost to President Tayyip Erdogan in elections earlier that year.
“Everyone wants one thing: that the congress be held as soon as possible — within about 40 days,” Ozel told reporters.
He said that 110 of the CHP’s 138 lawmakers had elected him as head of the party’s parliamentary group on Saturday and he would chair the CHP’s parliamentary meetings, rather than Kilicdaroglu.
The ousted CHP leadership under Ozel has previously condemned the court ruling as a “judicial coup” and Ozel promised to fight it through legal appeals and to personally remain “day and night” in the CHP’s Ankara headquarters.
Speaking to reporters, reinstated leader Kilicdaroglu called on CHP members to avoid internal divisions and said the party must protect its “moral values” in the face of criticism.
