One day after Kılıçdaroğlu’s “purification” video message, the Court of Appeal ruled through an “absolute nullity” decision that he should return to the leadership of the CHP. Özgür Özel and Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu are seen here at the 4–5 November 2023 CHP Congress, which has become the first party congress in Türkiye to be annulled by a court ruling.
The Court of Appeal has ruled in favor of the “absolute nullity” and “void ab initio” lawsuit filed for the annulment of the 2023 CHP Congress in which Özgür Özel was elected to replace Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu as leader of the Republican People’s Party (CHP). In its ruling announced on May 21, the 36th Civil Chamber of the Ankara Regional Court of Justice ordered the return of Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu and his administration to the leadership of the CHP and annulled, together with all their consequences, the subsequent congresses held under Özel’s leadership.
The court cited procedural irregularities at the 4–5 November 2023 Congress, where Özel was elected, as the basis for its ruling.
This marks the first time in Türkiye that a political party leadership elected by delegate votes at a congress has been removed through a judicial decision.
Kılıçdaroğlu’s Video Message Yesterday
As CHP Chairman Özgür Özel called the party leadership into an extraordinary meeting, the Ankara provincial branch urged CHP members to gather at party headquarters in solidarity “for democracy.” Reports indicate there is a tendency within the CHP not to abandon the headquarters building.
On his X account, Özel reposted his remarks from the now-annulled 2023 Congress: “I do not promise you that we will reach power by walking through a rose garden.”
Kılıçdaroğlu, who wished that the ruling would “bring good outcomes,” said on X: “This decision should not become a cause for division, but rather an opportunity to unite beneath the branches of our century-old plane tree.”
Justice Minister Akın Gürlek said the decision had “strengthened citizens’ confidence in democracy” and called on everyone to respect the ruling.
In a video message released on May 20, Kılıçdaroğlu referred to “contamination” within the CHP and stressed the need for “purification and reckoning,” emphasizing his own “moral struggle.” Political circles in Ankara speculated that this video indicated that Kılıçdaroğlu and those around him either anticipated or had prior knowledge that the absolute nullity ruling would be issued before the extended nine-day Eid al-Adha holiday.
Kılıçdaroğlu’s lawyer later announced that he would call Özel following the ruling.
The Absolute Nullity Decision
The ruling includes the following measures:
- The annulment, effective retroactively from the date it was held, of the CHP’s 38th Ordinary Elective Congress of 4–5 November 2023 on the grounds that it was legally defective due to absolute nullity;
- The annulment of all ordinary and extraordinary congresses held after that date, together with all decisions adopted at those congresses;
- A return to the status quo prior to the 38th Congress, with then-party leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu and the party organs resuming their duties exactly as before;
- The temporary suspension from office of CHP Chairman Özgür Özel, members of the Central Executive Board, Party Assembly members, and members of the High Disciplinary Board who assumed office through the annulled congress;
- The temporary reinstatement, pending finalization of the ruling, of Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, the Party Assembly, and the High Disciplinary Board members who were in office before the congress;
- The annulment, retroactively from the date it was held, of the CHP Istanbul Provincial Congress of 8 October 2023 and all decisions adopted there, on the grounds of absolute nullity;
- A return to the status quo prior to the Istanbul Provincial Congress, with the former provincial chairman and provincial party organs continuing in office.
İmamoğlu’s Presidential Candidacy
In its 20-page ruling on absolute nullity, the court also accepted allegations that Istanbul Metropolitan Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu improperly influenced delegates in favor of Özel during the 4–5 November 2023 Congress in exchange for benefits. These allegations included providing money to some delegates, offering candidacies for mayoral and municipal council positions, and promising jobs.
The ruling further stated that, after the first round of voting, delegates’ “free will was corrupted” by false claims that Kılıçdaroğlu had withdrawn his candidacy.
Former Supreme Court chamber president Hamdi Yaver Aktan commented on the Court of Appeal’s ruling to Cumhuriyet newspaper:
- “This is unprecedented. Bodies elected under the authority of the Supreme Election Council and the electoral judiciary are being invalidated by a civil court. Courts do not have the authority to invalidate party congresses. This creates complete chaos for the CHP. The current CHP leadership is obliged to comply with this ruling. There appears to be no legal path out of this situation.”
Should the ruling become final, the CHP’s nomination of Ekrem İmamoğlu as its presidential candidate could also become invalid.
The ruling represents not only a major shock for the CHP but also a traumatic development for the quality of democracy in Türkiye.
