ANKARA — An appeals court in Ankara on Thursday nullified the November 2023 Republican People's Party congress that elected Ozgur Ozel as chairman, suspending him and the party's executive board and ordering their replacement by former leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu and others who held party posts before the congress. By Sunday, party members were locked in a standoff outside the CHP headquarters in Ankara, with most officials remaining inside the building and refusing entry to the court-ordered leadership.

A lower court had previously ruled against claims of irregularities and misconduct surrounding Ozel's election, but the appeals court decision overturned that verdict. The party appealed the appeals court ruling to the Supreme Election Council, which rejected the appeal, and to the Supreme Court, which accepted it. Lutfu Savas, who was expelled from the CHP in December 2024, filed the case to overturn the November 2023 congress two months after his expulsion.

Celal Celik, lawyer for Kilicdaroglu, asked Ankara police to assist in vacating the party headquarters, and the Ankara Governor's office approved the request. Police presence grew steadily outside the building Sunday morning, and rival teams were scheduled to meet Sunday afternoon to try to resolve the impasse. Local media reported that a crowd outside Ozel's office were not CHP members but had been sent to intimidate.

Kilicdaroglu removed the three lawyers who had filed the party's appeal against the congress ruling and changed his profile on X from "7th chairman of the CHP" to "chairman of the CHP." Most members of the party rallied behind Ozel after the court ruling.

Justice Minister Akin Gurlek said the court's ruling reinforced citizens' trust in democracy. The government says that Turkey's courts are impartial and act independently of political pressure.

Kilicdaroglu led the CHP for 13 years and did not win any national elections during his tenure. Under Ozel's leadership, the party won victories against the ruling Justice and Development Party in the 2024 municipal elections. In the 2019 local elections, the CHP had seized control of several major cities, including Istanbul. Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu has been imprisoned since March 2025 and is on trial on corruption charges.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has ruled Turkey since 2003, first as prime minister and then as president, and can call for an early presidential vote despite the next scheduled election being due in 2028.