Turkish court ruling removes head of main opposition party

Ruling annuls 2023 CHP leadership contest and deposes Özgür Özel, the face of opposition to Erdoğan A Turkish court has issued a ruling that removes the head of the main opposition party, in the latest blow to challengers of the president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. The ruling, issued by an appeals court in Ankara on Thursday, annulled a 2023 leadership contest within the Republican People’s party (CHP), deposing the party’s leader, Özgür Özel. Özel, 51, has become the face of Turkey’s opposition, seen as responsible for the rejuvenation of the CHP as well as being one of few remaining figures within the party who has avoided charges that could land him in detention. The court ordered that Özel be replaced by his predecessor, Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, who lost a pivotal general election to Erdoğan in 2023 despite a groundswell of opposition to the Turkish president’s two decades in power. Özel’s election as party leader preceded Turkish local elections in 2024 where the CHP swept Erdoğan’s Justice and Development party (AKP) from power in municipalities and mayoralties across the country. Earlier this week, another Ankara court ordered Özel to pay the president 300,000 lira (£4,900) in damage