CHP appeals court ruling

The Republican People's Party (CHP) has filed an appeal as a legal entity to the Istanbul 45th Civil Court of First Instance, which issued the decision to provisionally remove the Istanbul Provincial Administration from office.

WHAT HAPPENED IN THE LAST 24 HOURS

The Istanbul 45th Civil Court of First Instance removed the administration elected following the CHP Istanbul Provincial Congress held on October 8, 2023, and appointed a temporary board of trustees in its place. The court stated that allegations of irregularities in the congress were verified at the level of "prima facie evidence" and provisionally removed the provincial chair, the board of directors, and the disciplinary board members from office. A temporary administration consisting of Gürsel Tekin, Zeki Şen, Hasan Babacan, Müjdat Gürbüz, and Erkan Narsap was appointed in their stead.

The decision was made upon a lawsuit filed by CHP member Özlem Erkan. Erkan had been a candidate for the Party Assembly from the "Balance and Solidarity" list at the extraordinary convention held on April 6, 2025, but was not elected. In the petition submitted to the court, the plaintiff stated, "The list we have submitted for appointment as trustees in the event that the honorable court issues an injunction is attached." With the announced decision, the names mentioned in the petition were appointed as the temporary administration.

With the decision, the convention delegates elected at the congress were also removed from office. The CHP Central Executive Board has provisionally halted election activities for district and provincial congresses in Istanbul as part of the 39th Ordinary Convention calendar it had initiated. 198 delegates were provisionally removed. The request to cancel all decisions taken at the Istanbul Provincial Congress held on October 8, 2023, was rejected.

Connecting to Halk TV, CHP Istanbul Provincial Chair Özgür Çelik said, "There has been no notification served to us. We are currently trying to understand the issue quickly." On his X account, Çelik also shared, "My dear fellow travelers, my phones are locked. It is not possible for me to return calls and messages."

FIRST STATEMENT FROM TRUSTEE GÜRSEL TEKİN

Following the removal decision, Gürsel Tekin, who is on the board of trustees, stated to Barış Yarkadaş, "It was a surprise for me as well. I will take responsibility to save our party from the corridors of the courthouse. We will not leave our party to trustees. We will take the CHP to the congress in unity and solidarity. All the friends on the board are composed of CHP members. The CHP is our home, our nest, our everything. All our friends should be at ease. CHP members will manage the CHP," he said.

Tekin also stated to Sözcü, "The chairmanship is not necessarily done in the building. During my three-and-a-half-year term as provincial chair, I spent at most 40-45 days in our party building. Politics is not done by sitting in a building. I will not let anyone question my party loyalty. I do not want to upset anyone. I did not bring the party to this state. There is a corpse here; should we not remove it, should it rot? It was immediately announced that I was expelled from the party. I know of 7 people who are still party members despite being informants. They are not being touched," he said.

Pointing out that the Civil Court of First Instance could have appointed people who are not CHP members as trustees, Tekin said, "For example, they could have appointed trustees from people registered with the Istanbul Bar Association No. 2. I have been in the CHP for 42 years and have served at every level. Our other friends are in the same situation. I do not understand why they are uncomfortable with us. We did not strive to get this position. During our term, we will do whatever the CHP's bylaws and law require. Our concern is to extinguish the fire that has fallen on our party. We are determined to protect the rights and laws of our friends in the party whose duties have been terminated to the end."

INVESTIGATION INTO CHP ISTANBUL ADMINISTRATION AND DELEGATES

The Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office launched an investigation and prepared an indictment alleging that "election fraud was committed and the Law on Political Parties was violated" during the last election of the CHP Istanbul Provincial Presidency. In this context, prison sentences ranging from 1 to 3 years were requested for 10 party officials, including CHP Istanbul Provincial Chair Özgür Çelik, Beyoğlu Mayor İnan Güney, who was arrested as part of operations against the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality, and Beşiktaş Mayor Rıza Akpolat.

The prosecutor's office requested the consolidation of this case with the case previously filed at the Istanbul 41st Civil Court of First Instance, which was prepared with the same nature, alleging irregularities in the CHP's 38th Istanbul Provincial Congress elections.

ÖZGÜR ÇELİK: THE DECISION IS POLITICAL AND UNLAWFUL

CHP Istanbul Provincial Chair Özgür Çelik said in a statement at the provincial building, "With a lawsuit filed on August 14, during the judicial recess, a legal process was carried out at jet speed within a 15-day period, and a decision was made. First and foremost, I want to ask this question to those who made this decision: Our Esenyurt Mayor Ahmet Özer has been waiting for an indictment for the second case in which he is being tried for 300 days, the indictment for our Beşiktaş Mayor Rıza Akpolat has not been written for 230 days, and the indictment for our presidential candidate Ekrem İmamoğlu has not been prepared for 165 days. Why was a decision made at jet speed with a lawsuit filed 15 days ago? We leave this to the conscience of the Turkish public," he said.

Çelik continued his statement with these words:

"The announced decision is not legal; it is a completely political decision. We know the purpose of this decision. As the Republican People's Party, we became the first party in Turkey in the March 31, 2024 elections. We doubled our number of municipalities in Istanbul from 14 to 26. We have been facing great lawlessness and great injustice for 300 days. They want to interrupt our 300-day struggle for justice, democracy, and freedom. This is their primary goal. Furthermore, with the decision taken by the Headquarters, congress and convention processes have begun in our party. So far, the congress processes in Istanbul are progressing very healthily in the neighborhoods. Their second goal is to stop our party's congress process. Their primary goal is to continue to dangle the sword of Damocles over the Republican People's Party. The decision taken is against the law. We held our meeting with our deputies, Party Assembly members, district chairs, High Disciplinary Board members, provincial administrators, mayors, and youth and women's branches in our provincial building regarding this decision. We will continue our legal struggle against this decision to the end. However, we will also continue our political struggle against this decision. Our lawyers will appeal this decision. We will be in our provincial building. Our organization will be here. We are at the head of our duty. We will continue to be at the head of our duty."

Çelik also touched upon the negative effects of the decision on the Turkish economy, democracy, and constitutional order, saying, "The decision announced today is not just a matter for the CHP. This decision is a matter for all of Turkey. We all followed that there was a serious decline in the stock market the moment the decision was announced. This decision has a cost to the Turkish economy and Turkish democracy. Today, the institutions of the Republic have been collapsed. The CHP is the people; this is the house of the people, and we will not hand over the house of the people to anyone. No one should fall into despair. After this decision, we will win together, we will overcome these difficulties together, and we will definitely win."

ÖZGÜR ÖZEL: 9 COURTS REJECTED IT, THEY FINALLY GOT IT ON THE 10TH

CHP Chairman Özgür Özel stated on a live broadcast on Halk TV that they do not recognize the removal of the Istanbul administration. He announced that Gürsel Tekin, who accepted to be a trustee, has been expelled from the party. Özel said, "Nine courts rejected it, they finally got it on the 10th. There are six cases in Ankara and four in Istanbul. This lawsuit is a combination of four lawsuits. This business is completely unlawful, and we will apply to the Constitutional Court," he said.

Drawing attention to the political consequences as well as the legal processes, Özel said, "It creates a political result where the opposition will embrace each other more tightly. However, we will take every step that needs to be taken legally. The court will be appealed, and the appellate path will be sought. But what this court is doing suspends election law in Turkey," he said.