Turkish court ousts main opposition's Istanbul head over congress irregularities

A Turkish court on Tuesday ousted the Istanbul provincial head of the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP), dealing a fresh judicial blow to opponents of President Tayyip Erdogan and triggering sharp falls in share and bond markets.

The Istanbul court ruled that the votes of delegates in a 2023 CHP provincial congress had been influenced by cash payments, and thus the board members elected at the congress should be removed.

The CHP denied all the accusations and said the court had no authority to overrule congress decisions, according to a court document seen by Reuters. The party convened its central executive board to discuss its next steps.

The court named former CHP deputy chair Gursel Tekin as interim provincial head, replacing Ozgur Celik who was removed.

Turkish stocks were down 3.57% at the close after plunging over 5% following the court ruling, while the banking index ended the session down 4.76%.

Turkey's international bonds suffered, with longer-dated maturities seeing the biggest declines and the 2045 benchmark bond down more than 1 cent to be bid at 86.953 cents on the dollar, Tradeweb data showed. The declines also reflected a broader selloff in longer-dated bonds in other major markets. [US/]

The Istanbul ruling could have implications for another court case, in Ankara, that could oust CHP leader Ozgur Ozel. In that lawsuit, for which the next hearing is set for September 15, results of the party's 38th Ordinary Congress in 2023 could be overturned over procedural irregularities. 

It was at that congress that Ozel replaced Kemal Kilicdaroglu, who lost to Erdogan in a presidential election earlier that year. 

CRACKDOWN

Turkish authorities have been conducting an unprecedented crackdown on the main opposition party that has seen the detention of 15 mayors, including Erdogan's main rival, Istanbul mayor Ekrem Imamoglu. 

"Today's move could signal wider political pressure, raising serious concerns about ongoing legal challenges to Ozel's CHP leadership and echoing earlier prosecutions targeting CHP figures," said Wolfango Piccoli at the consultancy Teneo.

"These moves... form part of Erdogan's broader strategy to disable the main opposition party and weaken the opposition ahead of the next presidential and parliamentary elections."

The government says Turkey's judiciary is independent and that the opposition's accusation that court rulings are politically motivated is baseless.

Turkey's next presidential and parliamentary elections are scheduled for 2028.