Breaking News: 2 delegates file a lawsuit to annul CHP's extraordinary convention! Here are the names...

Republican People's Party (CHP) convention delegates Hatip Karaarslan and Yılmaz Özkanat have filed a lawsuit for the annulment of the 21st Extraordinary Convention held on April 6.

In the petition submitted by the delegates' lawyer, Onur Yusuf Üregen, to the Ankara 41st Civil Court of First Instance, it was stated that the Republican People's Party has played a significant role in Turkish political life throughout its history with its commitment to the rule of law, transparency, and democracy.

The petition included the following statements:

"The 21st Extraordinary Convention held on April 6, 2025, was conducted in violation of these principles and was shaped by methods that usurped the intra-party will. For this reason, the judiciary has been petitioned for the annulment of the convention in question. Processes such as the regular convention on November 4-5, 2023, and the CHP İstanbul Provincial Congress have been overshadowed by financial irregularities, unlawful practices, and interventions that crippled the democratic will. The decisions taken at these conventions are null and void. The Extraordinary Convention dated April 6, 2025, which was built upon this state of nullity, is also invalid from start to finish."

The petition, which argues that the decision for an extraordinary convention taken on March 21, 2025, is legally invalid, claims that "CHP Chairman Özgür Özel was declared chairman in a 'dubious' manner at the November 4-5, 2023 convention and that he lacks the authority to hold the office."

The petition stated that the candidacy processes of natural delegates, who were elected with questionable legitimacy at the convention, were effectively obstructed, and that the pressures exerted on delegates and practices that cast a shadow over the secrecy of the voting completely eliminated the democratic legitimacy of the extraordinary convention process.

The following was noted in the petition:

"For the first time in our party's history, such a low number of candidate applications occurred; the lists imposed on delegates and the monitored voting process have taken their place as a black mark in our political life. Although the delegates elected at the Istanbul Provincial Congress had no legal validity, these individuals cast votes at the convention. As individuals who believe in the rule of law, the preservation of intra-party democracy, and the loyalty of the Republican People's Party to its own traditions, we will not remain silent against this unlawful process. For this reason, we have filed a lawsuit for the annulment of the 21st Extraordinary Convention held on April 6, 2025. Our goal is to bring our party back to a legal foundation, to be the voice of legitimacy and justice, and to represent the Republican People's Party in a manner worthy of its history and its founders."

REMOVAL OF ÖZEL FROM OFFICE REQUESTED!

The petition requested that the lawsuit regarding the annulment of the 38th Ordinary Convention held on November 4-5, 2023, be consolidated with this case.

In the petition, which claims that the "CHP 21st Extraordinary Convention is null and void and tainted by absolute invalidity," it was requested that Chairman Özgür Özel, who was elected as a result of the CHP 38th Ordinary Convention, as well as members of the Central Executive Board, the Party Assembly, and the High Disciplinary Board, be suspended from their duties as a precautionary measure.

The petition stated, "Since the CHP 38th Ordinary Convention held on November 4-5, 2023, is tainted by absolute invalidity and is null and void, as a requirement of legislation and law, the authorities of the Party Chairman, Party Assembly members, and High Disciplinary Board members who were in office prior to the 38th Ordinary Convention will be restored; therefore, it is requested that Chairman Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu and the previous Party Assembly and High Disciplinary Board members who were in office before the November 4-5 convention be reinstated to their duties as a precautionary measure."