A politically charged trial that could reshape the leadership of Turkey’s main opposition party, the Republican People’s Party (CHP), was adjourned on Monday until September 8, amid growing tensions and accusations of government interference.
The case, centered on allegations of corruption and vote buying during the CHP’s leadership congress in November 2023, threatens to nullify the election of current party leader Özgür Özel. The brief court session was postponed over a jurisdictional issue, leaving the party’s future hanging in the balance.
Ankara’s public prosecutor launched the investigation in February, focusing on claims that delegates were bribed during the congress where Özel narrowly defeated longtime party leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu. The CHP has firmly rejected the accusations as baseless and politically motivated.
If the court annuls the congress results, the leadership could revert to 76-year-old Kılıçdaroğlu, who was unseated after the CHP’s loss in the 2023 presidential election to President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. Kılıçdaroğlu has indicated he would be prepared to return as leader if reinstated, a prospect that has deepened divisions within the party.
Adding to the controversy, media reports suggest that several high-profile CHP members, including Istanbul’s suspended mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu, could face up to three years in prison and political bans if found guilty. İmamoğlu — widely regarded as Erdoğan’s most formidable rival — has been in prison since March after being swept up in the corruption probe. The CHP has called his removal a “coup” aimed at derailing his potential candidacy in the 2028 presidential race.
Özel responded defiantly after Monday’s hearing. “No conspiracy against our party is ever unrelated to the March 19 coup,” he posted on X. “It is clear today’s hearing wasn’t focused on results but was a politically motivated process aimed at discrediting our party, halting our march to power, and breaking our resolve to fight on.”
In protest, the CHP has organized a large demonstration for Tuesday evening outside Istanbul City Hall — known locally as Saraçhane — to mark 100 days since İmamoğlu’s ousting. “We will never stray from our goal or turn back from our path,” Özel declared, calling Saraçhane “the heart of resistance.”
The case is widely seen as a test of Turkey’s democratic institutions and political pluralism, with critics warning that it reflects a broader strategy by Erdoğan’s government to suppress dissent and fracture the opposition ahead of the next general election.
