Here is the behind-the-scenes of the trustee claim for the CHP... 'It was clarified on March 23'

While the first hearing of the lawsuit filed for the cancellation of the 38th Ordinary Congress of the Republican People's Party (CHP) was being held at the 42nd Civil Court of First Instance, claims circulating on social media that a "trustee would be appointed to the CHP" became a major topic of discussion. However, it was clarified through official statements from state sources that these claims were baseless.

According to the claims circulating on social media, which gained traction especially after a post by Rasim Ozan Kütahyalı, it was alleged that the congress held by the CHP in November 2023 would be cancelled, a temporary trustee would be appointed to the party, and that this trustee would be former Foreign Minister Hikmet Çetin.

Furthermore, it was stated that security forces were being dispatched to Ankara in anticipation of a possible "uprising." However, statements from the government side indicated that no such situation was the case. Rasim Ozan Kütahyalı, who made the post about the trustee, was taken into custody.

Nefes columnist Aytunç Erkin wrote about the trustee claims against the CHP and how this rumor emerged. Here is Erkin's article:

Everyone knows that there is an ongoing investigation and a lawsuit filed by the Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor's Office regarding the "irregularity" allegations concerning the CHP's 38th Congress. Yesterday, this case began to be heard at the Ankara 42nd Civil Court of First Instance, and the first hearing was adjourned.

First, a piece of information spread on social media:

"Police leave has been cancelled in Ankara, a trustee will be appointed to the CHP, and operations will be carried out against some municipalities." Upon this, I called sources at the Chief Public Prosecutor's Office, and they provided the following information:

"The reason for such a large police presence is a major narcotics operation. Besides, such an operation is not carried out with fanfare." And two days ago, the Ankara Governor's Office issued a statement: "The matter is entirely related to peace and security practices carried out at certain intervals in our province regarding public order crimes." And yesterday morning, we saw that an operation was carried out against "street-level drug dealers."

Then, another piece of information arrived:

"We expect deputies to come to the CHP Headquarters tomorrow morning." Following this information, I called some deputies, and the answer I received was: "The Ankara Provincial Organization will set up a stand in front of the headquarters for the Ekrem İmamoğlu signature campaign, and the deputies were called for that."

Meanwhile, Rasim Ozan Kütahyalı's social media post appeared:

"Tomorrow, the November 2023 CHP congress is being cancelled. A temporary trustee is being appointed to the CHP, and the CHP is heading to a new congress in 45 days, on June 1, 2025. It is said that the trustee will be Hikmet Çetin. A large number of security forces have been dispatched from Istanbul to Ankara against the possibility of a potential uprising. All security force leaves in Ankara have been cancelled. Tomorrow, Ankara is preparing for a very long day."

I dug a little deeper into this post and spoke with names I trust in the CHP's top management: "It's truly unbelievable. Someone said it, someone spread it, someone believed it, and it's going on like that. There is no such thing. I am sitting at home watching television. If there were such information with me or us, could I be sitting at home?"

Afterwards, both Minister of Justice Yılmaz Tunç and the Presidential Communications Directorate's Center for Combating Disinformation (DMM) denied the "trustee" claims. The emphasis in the DMM's statement was important: "Claims made regarding the decision of a case that has not even been heard yet are baseless."

Then, another piece of information arrived. Minister of Justice Yılmaz Tunç announced on his social media account: "Some posts are being made via social media regarding the judicial investigation initiated by the Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor's Office upon the complaints of some CHP delegates, the lawsuits filed by some delegates at the Ankara Civil Court of First Instance for the cancellation of the CHP's 38th Ordinary Congress, and claims that operations will be carried out against some municipalities. Such baseless claims aimed at misleading the public should not be given credence. Regarding these posts, a judicial investigation has been initiated by the Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor's Office within the scope of the 'crime of publicly spreading misleading information' pursuant to Article 217/A of the Turkish Penal Code." We learned that an "investigation" was launched against Kütahyalı. (A detention order was also issued yesterday).

It was clear on March 23 that there would be no “trustee”

Let me remind you:

On March 23, I asked the question in this column, "Why did Özgür Özel decide to hold an extraordinary congress?": "On March 19, while Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality (IMM) Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu was in custody as part of two investigations opened for corruption and terrorism charges, the CHP decided to hold an extraordinary congress. CHP leader Özgür Özel, who announced that they would go to an extraordinary congress on April 6, 2025, explained the reason for this decision as the claims that 'a trustee would be appointed to the party and the presidential primary on March 23 would be prevented.' In other words, Özel will be a candidate again for the chairmanship he won against Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu on November 4-5, 2023, a year and a half later. I spoke with a friend who follows judicial circles in Ankara closely and has his ears to the ground. He said: 'According to the claim, there is a preparation of summaries of proceedings for nearly 10 CHP deputies, and political bans will be requested. Meanwhile, proceedings will also be carried out against more than 50 delegates regarding the congress investigation. Upon this, the CHP management took action.' Did the 'trustee' problem disappear with this decision? In my meetings with CHP lawyers, they evaluated it as, 'There was no investigation that reached us, and we decided to hold a congress. Thus, we averted the trustee danger.'"

Upon this, I asked some names who know Ankara and Beştepe closely. They said that there would be clarity next week and said: "According to one view; if the headquarters congress is deemed null and void depending on the cancellation of the Istanbul provincial congress, the Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu administration will return. According to another view; if the headquarters congress is not deemed null and void but is cancelled, a trustee will be appointed. However, does holding a new congress eliminate these possibilities? That is also a subject of legal debate. Therefore, the judiciary will choose an interpretation and make a decision."

In conclusion; it was clear that no "trustee" would be appointed to the CHP with the events that took place during the process of İmamoğlu's detention on March 19 and his arrest on March 23. It is also worth noting that those within the state who want "normalization" evaluated that "a trustee would be a mistake."