Turkish police on Saturday detained 13 people under an investigation into a 2023 congress of the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) that elected as chair Özgür Özel, who was ousted by a court ruling on Thursday.
A Turkish appeals court on Thursday annulled the congress, at which Özel was elected, citing unspecified irregularities. In his place, the court reinstated former CHP Chair Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, a divisive figure who lost to President Tayyip Erdoğan in elections earlier that year.
The Ankara court found that “the will of the delegates was corrupted” at the congress, making the leadership vote legally invalid. The ruling cited allegations that some delegates were offered money, municipal positions, jobs and other benefits in exchange for support during the congress that ended Kılıçdaroğlu’s 13-year tenure.
The CHP leadership has denied the accusations and Özel promised to fight it through legal appeals and to personally remain "day and night" in the CHP's Ankara headquarters.
Both the Supreme Court of Appeals and the Supreme Election Council (YSK) rejected the CHP’s appeal to overturn the ruling on Friday.
The Istanbul chief public prosecutor's office said Saturday the suspects were detained across seven provinces over allegations of interference in delegates' voting during the 2023 congress.
They face charges of "violating the law on political parties", "accepting bribes", and "laundering assets derived from crime", the statement said. Search and seizure operations were carried out at the suspects' addresses in the provinces of Istanbul, Ankara, Izmir, Şanlıurfa, Kahramanmaraş, Kilis and Malatya.
