A Turkish court has removed the Istanbul provincial chief of the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP), citing alleged irregularities during the party’s 2023 provincial congress. The decision, announced Tuesday, marks yet another judicial setback for critics of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.
The court ruled that delegate votes at the CHP’s Istanbul congress were tainted by financial inducements, invalidating the election of board members. In response, it appointed former CHP deputy chair Gürsel Tekin as interim provincial head. The ruling immediately rattled financial markets, sending Turkey’s BIST 100 index down 5.4% and banking stocks plunging 7.5%.
Observers note that the move may have broader consequences, as it could influence a separate court case in Ankara targeting CHP leader Özgür Özel. That case, with its next hearing scheduled for September 15, could annul the results of the party’s 38th Ordinary Congress—where Özel replaced longtime leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu following his presidential defeat to Erdoğan.
The ruling arrives in the context of an intensifying crackdown on the opposition. Fifteen mayors, including Istanbul’s Ekrem İmamoğlu—widely seen as Erdoğan’s strongest rival—have already been detained in recent months.
Critics argue that these court interventions appear less about legal irregularities and more about systematically weakening Turkey’s largest opposition party ahead of future elections. By destabilizing the CHP’s leadership and fueling market uncertainty, the judiciary’s actions raise renewed concerns over political interference in Turkey’s institutions and the erosion of democratic norms.
