The fate of the current administration of the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) is in the hands of its former members and the courts in Ankara. Months after several CHP delegates filed a lawsuit claiming corruption in an intraparty election in 2023, two cases linked to complaints are before the courts. In one case, judges adjourned Wednesday’s hearing to July 1 while a court of appeals is expected to issue a verdict in another case that may eject the current administration.
The 26th Penal Court on Wednesday heard a defendant and a witness at Wednesday’s hearing in the case where 12 defendants are accused of irregularities and fraud at the November 2023 election that brought incumbent Chair Özgür Özel to power in Türkiye’s oldest party. Among the defendants are Istanbul’s disgraced former Mayor Ekrem Imamoğlu, who was arrested last year on charges of corruption in another case. They face prison terms up to three years and a political ban.
Testifying at the hearing on Wednesday, Baki Aydöner, a member of the CHP’s Party Assembly, denied allegations and claimed the eyewitnesses testified earlier had “contradictions” in their statements. A delegate who voted at the 2023 elections was heard as an eyewitness and told the court that he did not witness any wrongdoings during, before and after the election.
Before adjourning the hearing to July, the court ordered hearing of Adem Soytekin as an eyewitness in the next session. Soytekin, a businessman, has most recently testified in a case against Imamoğlu in Istanbul, where he admitted paying bribes to the Istanbul municipality in exchange of permits. Soytekin has claimed that a construction subsidiary of the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality handed out free real estate to “people influential in the election process.”
Onur Yusuf Üregen, the lawyer of former Hatay Mayor Lütfü Savaş, one of the plaintiffs, told the hearing on Wednesday that the case in question does not concern a simple procedural irregularity that occurred at the convention where the election was also held. “Purchasing democratic will is a crime against public order,” he told the court.
He said some delegates were systematically provided with material benefits in order to influence their voting will and argued that witness statements and other evidence in the case file clearly demonstrate the elements of the crime beyond any doubt, and that the will of the delegates was cumulatively compromised. Üregen stated that his client, Lütfü Savaş, acted in line with the rule of law and political ethics without seeking personal gain, but was nevertheless targeted, threatened and subjected to attempts to discredit him during the process.
He claimed that his client acted to protect the CHP’s democratic tradition by filing the complaint.
“The integrity of the evidence in the file makes it necessary to punish the defendants. This is because what is at stake here is the usurpation of political will and the corruption of democratic representation. In this respect, the case has a public, not an individual, character. Therefore, we respectfully request that the defendants be punished, with our faith in the Turkish judiciary and justice,” he said.
Elsewhere, the judicial process in what is publicly known as the “absolute nullification” case is still at the appellate stage. The case stems from criminal complaints by former delegates who voted in the same 2023 election. Plaintiffs accuse several figures of CHP of “impairing the will of the delegates” during the electoral process and call for nullification of the results of the election.
A lower court rejected the request for absolute nullification without examining the merits of the case. Following this rejection, the plaintiffs brought the case before the Ankara Regional Court of Justice for appellate review. During its review, the appellate court requested all evidence and case files from the relevant local courts in Istanbul and Ankara. The court is currently examining all these documents.
If a ruling of absolute nullification is issued, it would render the CHP leadership invalid, potentially leading to the appointment of a trustee or interim administration for the party.
If the verdict becomes final, the leadership prior to the congress, namely Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu and his team, could legally regain authority in place of Özgür Özel’s administration. The court may also appoint a temporary administrative board (trustee) to lead the party to a new congress. Kılıçdaroğlu has also signalled that he was ready to take the post of trustee as well before a new intraparty election.
For the ruling to become final, both the appellate and Court of Cassation processes must be completed.
The possibility of an absolute nullification verdict led to mobilization within the party, with Ankara Mayor Mansur Yavaş openly calling on the administration to “do something” a few weeks ago. Özel, meanwhile, continued his rallies across the country, seeking support for an early or by-election, and rallied the CHP supporters around mayors detained or arrested on charges of corruption. The party may continue its rallies in case of absolute nullification, while media reports say Özel and several lawmakers may leave the CHP and establish a new party.
