Turkish court ousts opposition leader in boost to Erdogan

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan was handed a considerable boost on Thursday when an appeals court in Ankara annulled the congress which elected Ozgur Ozel as the leader of the opposition Republican People's Party (CHP).

Ozel was chosen CHP chairman at the party's 2023 congress, taking over from former opposition leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu, a 77-year-old politician considered little threat to Erdogan's ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP).

Under Ozel, however, the CHP has been polling neck-and-neck with the AKP, while Ozel himself became the face of massive street protests in March 2025 following the arrest and imprisonment of former Istanbul mayor and CHP presidential candidate Ekrem Imamoglu.

Last year, a court ruled in the first instance that the initial case against the 2023 CHP congress had no substance.

But ​the appeals court overturned that on Thursday, declaring the vote null and void due to apparent irregularities, including allegations that Ozel secured his election through promises of jobs and other perks.

The court suspended Ozel and members of the party's executive board by provisionally replacing them with Kilicdaroglu, who in turn called for party members to remain calm.

"Our party is a very large party and it will solve its own problems internally," he said. 

Turkish opposition leader Ozel: 'We will not give in!'

Ozel, however, attempted to rally supporters.

"We will not give in!" he pledged on social media shortly after the ruling, vowing to continue the fight. "I am not promising you a path to power through a rose garden; I am promising you the ability to endure suffering but never surrender. I am promising you honor, dignity, courage and struggle!"

But the ruling, the latest in a series of legal cases targeting CHP members and elected officials, has thrown the opposition into disarray and sent the Turkish stock market tumbling.

Following the decision, the party called an emergency meeting of its senior leadership at its Ankara headquarters, where hundreds of flag-waving activists gathered shouting defiant slogans.

Meanwhile, Istanbul's BIST 100, Turkey's main stock index, fell by more than 6%, triggering a market-wide circuit breaker.

The next presidential election in Turkey isn't scheduled until 2028 when Erdogan will be looking to extend his two-decade tenure in office.

Edited by: Sean Sinico