The Republican People’s Party (CHP), Turkey’s main opposition force, finds itself at the center of a political and legal firestorm as it re-elected its embattled leader, Ozgur Ozel, in an extraordinary congress held in Ankara on September 21, 2025. The move, which saw Ozel secure all 835 valid votes cast out of 917 delegates, was more than just a routine leadership affirmation—it was a calculated response to mounting legal threats that could upend the party’s top ranks and reshape the country’s political landscape.
Ozel, who first took the party’s helm in November 2023 after the defeat of long-serving leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu in the presidential elections, ran unopposed in the latest congress. The landslide result was as much a show of unity as it was a desperate gambit to shield the party’s leadership from a lawsuit that could invalidate his 2023 election. According to Agence France-Presse and Reuters, prosecutors have accused Ozel and more than ten other party members of bribing delegates with money, homes, and coveted municipal posts to secure his original victory.
The stakes are high. Should the Ankara court rule against Ozel and annul the 2023 congress results, the CHP would face an unprecedented leadership vacuum. In that scenario, a judicially appointed trustee would temporarily take control of the party until a new vote could be organized. The next hearing in the case is scheduled for October 24, 2025, leaving the party in a state of anxious anticipation.
For Ozel and his allies, the re-election was a strategic maneuver designed to blunt the force of the legal challenge. "The party is under attack, and they are trying every possible method," Ozel declared after the vote, as reported by AFP. He went on to describe the congress as a “technical and legal maneuver” intended to eliminate the basis of the lawsuit. "Our legal experts and administrators are taking the most appropriate measures against this. With the holding of this congress, all their (legal) arguments are eliminated," he asserted, signaling the party’s resolve to fight on both political and legal fronts.
The legal troubles facing the CHP are unfolding against a backdrop of remarkable electoral success. In the March 2024 local elections, the party achieved a historic breakthrough, wresting control of key municipalities from President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP). This victory, widely celebrated by the opposition, marked the first time in decades that the CHP had made such significant inroads at the local level. Yet, this surge in popularity has been met with what many see as a coordinated campaign of legal and political pressure.
In recent months, hundreds of CHP officials have been arrested, with critics describing the cases against them as politically motivated. According to Reuters, twelve party members, including Istanbul’s popular mayor Ekrem Imamoglu, face charges ranging from offering cash and jobs to delegates to breaching Turkey’s political parties law. All those accused vehemently deny any wrongdoing.
Imamoglu’s case has drawn particular attention. Seen as the CHP’s strongest potential challenger to Erdogan in the 2028 presidential elections, Imamoglu was arrested in March 2025 on corruption charges—just days before he was expected to announce his candidacy. He has remained in prison since, and his removal from office sparked the largest protests in Turkey since the 2013 Gezi Park unrest, with Ozel himself leading the demonstrations. The message from the opposition was clear: the crackdown on CHP officials is not just about legal technicalities, but about the future direction of Turkish democracy.
President Erdogan, for his part, has not minced words. He described the CHP’s internal vote as “tainted” and a “fraudulent process,” according to coverage by Reuters. The government’s stance has only sharpened the sense of siege felt within the opposition. Political analyst Berk Esen, cited by AFP, called a recent court ruling annulling the October 2023 election of CHP’s Istanbul branch leader "a rehearsal" for the broader case targeting the national leadership—a sign, perhaps, of more turbulence to come.
The legal battle is not confined to the national stage. In September 2025, a court annulled the elections of Istanbul branch leader Ozgur Celik and 195 other officials, further destabilizing the party’s local structures. In response, the CHP’s Istanbul branch announced it would hold its own extraordinary congress on September 24, 2025, to elect new leadership—a move aimed at restoring order amid the chaos.
Despite the mounting pressure, the CHP leadership remains defiant. Ozel and his circle insist that the party’s recent electoral gains and internal reforms have made it a genuine threat to the AKP’s dominance. By re-electing Ozel in a transparent, delegate-driven process, the party hopes to demonstrate its democratic credentials and undercut the government’s legal case. Whether this strategy will succeed remains uncertain, but for now, it has bought the party precious time.
The broader context is one of deepening polarization in Turkish politics. The opposition accuses the ruling party of weaponizing the judiciary to silence dissent and undermine democratic institutions. Supporters of the government, meanwhile, argue that the legal proceedings are necessary to root out corruption and uphold the rule of law. Both sides agree on one thing: the outcome of the CHP’s legal battles will have far-reaching consequences for the future of political competition in Turkey.
All eyes now turn to the Ankara court and the upcoming hearing on October 24. The decision could determine not only the fate of Ozgur Ozel and his colleagues, but also the trajectory of the opposition movement as it gears up for the 2028 presidential elections. For the CHP, the path ahead is fraught with uncertainty, but the party’s leaders are betting that unity, resilience, and a willingness to confront adversity head-on will carry them through the storm.
In the turbulent world of Turkish politics, the CHP’s extraordinary congress may prove to be a pivotal moment—a bold, if risky, bid to safeguard the party’s future and keep the spirit of opposition alive.
