Türkiye’s Supreme Election Council (YSK) on Friday rejected the CHP’s objection to the court injunction tied to the party’s congress dispute, ruling that the interim measure issued by an Ankara appeals court was final and not subject to further appeal.

YSK Chairman Serdar Mutta said the decision issued by the Ankara Regional Court of Justice’s 36th Civil Chamber had been formally transmitted to the board on Thursday evening and reviewed during Friday’s session.

According to Mutta, the board unanimously ruled that the injunction decision could not be challenged under the current legal framework, citing the Civil Procedure Code and the absence of a legal mechanism to object to interim injunctions issued at the appeals stage.

The board also declined to issue a separate ruling regarding requests submitted by CHP representatives linked to changes in the party’s YSK representation following the reinstatement of former CHP leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu.

YSK further stated that it had no authority to enforce or execute decisions issued by civil courts, ordering the “absolute nullity” ruling to be returned without administrative action.

Mutta said the court’s full reasoned decision would be released at a later date.

Meanwhile, the Ankara Regional Court of Justice’s 36th Civil Chamber also rejected a separate legal objection filed by CHP headquarters against the injunction decision.

Senior figures from Türkiye’s main opposition CHP rallied behind party leader Özgür Özel on Friday after an Ankara appeals court ruled to temporarily remove the current party administration and reinstate former chair Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu as CHP leader amid an ongoing congress dispute.

Speaking outside CHP headquarters in Ankara, CHP Group Deputy Chair Murat Emir rejected the ruling and said the party would continue resisting what he described as an unlawful intervention.

“We are at the party’s founding home and we will continue resisting together with millions,” Emir said.

He stated that CHP had appealed the ruling before Türkiye’s Supreme Election Council (YSK), arguing that the party congresses were conducted under the board’s supervision and authority.

“The congresses were held under the supervision and oversight of the YSK. Therefore, if the YSK is to continue existing as an institution, it must put an end to this unlawfulness at the constitutional level through a decision consistent with its previous rulings,” Emir said.

CHP Istanbul lawmaker Cemal Enginyurt also criticized the court decision, arguing that YSK rulings are final and cannot be overridden.

“The mentality that ignores the YSK shows that politics in Türkiye is finished,” Enginyurt said.

He also called on Kılıçdaroğlu not to accept the court-backed reinstatement, while expressing support for Özel.

Former CHP presidential candidate Muharrem Ince urged party members to remain calm, saying the CHP, founded during Türkiye’s War of Independence, could not be reshaped through courtrooms.

“We have survived coups, party closures and confiscations before. We will overcome this too,” Ince said.

Meanwhile, delegations from political parties and civil society organizations, and representatives from several unions and professional organizations, visited Özel at CHP headquarters following the court ruling.

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Türkiye’s main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) was searching for a political and legal path forward on Friday after a court ruling ousted its leader and annulled its congress.

A court in Ankara on Thursday ordered the removal of Özgür Özel and the current party administration from their positions. It ruled that the 2023 party congress, during which Özel was elected chair, was invalid due to irregularities.

The court ordered that former CHP leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu and the party’s previous leadership temporarily take over the party’s administration.

The verdict, which is not yet final, has deepened a years-long internal rift and added uncertainty within the CHP by also voiding subsequent congresses, the new party program, bylaw changes and decisions taken under Özel’s leadership.

Özel rejected the ruling and said the party would appeal to the Supreme Election Council (YSK) and the Supreme Court of Appeals, while insisting the struggle would remain within the CHP rather than through the formation of a new political party. He also vowed to personally remain “day and night” in the CHP’s headquarters in Ankara.

The court on Friday upheld its ruling, rejecting the CHP’s appeal and leaving the party with the option to take the case to the Supreme Court of Appeals. If that court also upholds the decision, it would become final under Turkish law, ending the legal dispute over the congress.

The issue at stake is whether delegates were bribed to vote for Özel during the CHP leadership contest in November 2023. The case, brought by a former party member, has weighed on the party for years.

The Ankara court found that “the will of the delegates was corrupted” at the congress, making the leadership vote legally invalid. The ruling cited allegations that some delegates were offered money, municipal positions, jobs and other benefits in exchange for support during the congress that ended Kılıçdaroğlu’s 13-year tenure.

The CHP leadership has denied the accusations. The case was dismissed in October before later being reopened.

The ruling comes amid dozens of legal cases involving the CHP, with hundreds of party members and several mayors detained since last year in ongoing corruption investigations, including former Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoğlu, who has been in pre-trial detention since March 2025.

Kılıçdaroğlu led the CHP for more than a decade before unsuccessfully challenging long-serving President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in the 2023 presidential election. Özel was chosen to replace Kılıçdaroğlu after the election defeat and sought to reposition the party.

Rival camps trade blame

The decision has effectively revived a bitter internal struggle that has simmered between Özel’s camp and Kılıçdaroğlu’s supporters since Özel’s victory.

At CHP headquarters in Ankara, supporters of Özel gathered late into the night, chanting slogans and waving flags, while police reinforced security around the building as rival claims to leadership intensified.

Inside and outside the party premises, emotions ran high. Some supporters removed a framed photograph of Kılıçdaroğlu from a display of past CHP chairs, while others tore it down and trampled it on the ground, shouting accusations against him.

In a notable early move after the ruling, Kılıçdaroğlu dismissed three party lawyers who had filed appeals against the decision, a step seen by party insiders as an attempt to quickly reassert control over the party’s legal and administrative apparatus.

Momentum within his camp appeared to grow in the wake of the ruling. According to party sources, 13-14 provincial chairpeople, including those from Adıyaman, Elazığ, Tunceli and Bingöl, contacted Kılıçdaroğlu to express support. Those same sources also claimed around 70 of the party’s 138 MPs had sent messages backing him, saying “we are with you.”

Supporters described the shift as broader than it appeared publicly, arguing that many officials had previously remained silent due to internal pressure.

Some lawmakers, however, rallied behind Özel and framed the ruling as an attempt to weaken the opposition through the courts.

CHP lawmaker Mahir Polat said the party should emerge “stronger and united” from the process, while another CHP deputy, Hüseyin Yıldız, urged members to respect the judicial decision and focus on preserving the party’s cohesion.

Outside the CHP, reactions reflected wider concern over the implications of the ruling for Turkish politics.

Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) leader Devlet Bahçeli called on both Kılıçdaroğlu and Özel to avoid deepening divisions and seek compromise in order to preserve the CHP’s institutional structure.

“Mr. Kılıçdaroğlu should undertake a historic responsibility in order not to hurt this deeply rooted institution and, within the framework permitted by law, he should waive his position in favor of reaching a joint formula for the future of the party,” Bahçeli said.

Kılıçdaroğlu’s path

Kılıçdaroğlu’s return has been accompanied by reports of early organizational moves and internal realignment discussions.

Party sources say he has begun consultations in Ankara on a possible road map and is expected to focus first on restoring internal order. According to CHP sources, it is considered “highly likely” that he will lead the party into the next election cycle before shaping its longer-term structure.

Kılıçdaroğlu is expected to proceed cautiously on structural changes. Sources close to him say he is unlikely to immediately call an extraordinary congress and instead may follow the party’s regular organizational calendar beginning later this year.

At the same time, internal dynamics remain unsettled. Officials who once served under Kılıçdaroğlu later joined Özel’s “change” movement, while others became mayors, parliamentary officials or resigned from party bodies, raising questions about how effectively authority can be reasserted across the organization.

Party sources say early discussions include the possible establishment of an internal ethics mechanism aimed at reviewing corruption allegations within the party.

The idea, described by insiders as part of a “clean politics” approach, is said to include the potential suspension of members under investigation, though no immediate decisions are expected.

Some within his camp are also considering disciplinary steps for members facing corruption allegations, but party officials say leadership is trying to avoid moves that could further inflame tensions.

No new party

Despite heated rhetoric, senior figures in both camps have so far signaled they do not support an outright split.

Talk of a possible breakaway has circulated in CHP circles for some time, with suggestions that Özel’s administration could operate a “reserve party” in case of prolonged legal uncertainty.

However, Özel has rejected that option for now, framing the fight as internal. “We are the landlords, tenants leave, landlords stay,” he said, underscoring his insistence on remaining within the party structure.

Due to an interim injunction, the appeals process is expected to take time, with some suggesting a final ruling may not come before the upcoming elections.

In that scenario, analysts say Özel’s camp could still revisit contingency plans, including a backup structure to field candidates if needed.

Political analysts say the CHP now faces one of the most serious institutional crises in its recent history.

The appeals process could take months, leaving the party caught between two competing centers of authority while Türkiye’s opposition landscape remains in flux ahead of future elections.

For Özel and his allies, the challenge will be maintaining political legitimacy and support within the party base while navigating an increasingly uncertain legal process.

For Kılıçdaroğlu, the task may prove equally delicate: reasserting authority over a divided party without triggering a deeper rupture inside the opposition.

An Ankara court on Friday rejected the main opposition Republican People’s Party’s (CHP) appeal against a previous ruling to oust its leader and annul its congress.

The appeals court on Thursday ⁠annulled the CHP 2023 congress at which leader Özgür Özel was chosen, citing unspecified irregularities. In his place, the court reinstated former CHP Chair Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu.

The court on Friday upheld its ruling, rejecting the CHP’s appeal and leaving the party with the option to take the case to the Supreme Court of Appeals. If that court also upholds the decision, it would become final under Turkish law, ending the legal dispute over the congress.

The court found that irregularities during the CHP’s November 2023 congress undermined the will of delegates, making the leadership vote legally invalid. The ruling cited allegations that some delegates were offered money, municipal positions, jobs and other benefits in exchange for support during the congress that ended Kılıçdaroğlu’s 13-year tenure as party leader.

The CHP has rejected the ruling, and Özel has vowed to fight it through legal appeals and to personally remain “day and night” in the party headquarters in Ankara.

The party has also appealed to the Supreme Election Council (YSK) to object to the court ruling, which is still weighing the appeal.

The Ankara court’s rejection of the appeal reinforces Kılıçdaroğlu’s return and the party structure that existed before the 2023 congress. It has voided all resolutions and decisions taken under Özel’s leadership.

It has also reopened a bitter internal struggle that has simmered in the party since Özel’s victory.

Some CHP lawmakers welcomed the court ruling and called for unity under Kılıçdaroğlu, while others rallied behind Özel and criticized judicial involvement in party affairs.

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Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) leader Devlet Bahçeli called on former main opposition leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu to assume what he described as a “historic responsibility” and seek a compromise with current Republican People’s Party (CHP) Chair Özgür Özel following a court ruling that invalidated the party’s 2023 congress.

In remarks to CNN Türk, Bahçeli said Kılıçdaroğlu should acknowledge that the court had recognized an injustice against him but avoid triggering internal divisions within the CHP by supporting a negotiated settlement.

“Mr. Kılıçdaroğlu should undertake a historic responsibility in order not to hurt this deeply rooted institution, not to damage it and not to cause chaos,” Bahçeli said. He added that Kılıçdaroğlu should meet with Özel and declare, within the framework permitted by law, that he would waive his position in favor of reaching a joint formula for the future of the party.

Bahçeli’s comments followed a ruling by Ankara’s Regional Court of Appeals regarding the CHP’s 38th Ordinary Congress held on Nov. 4-5, 2023, where Özel defeated Kılıçdaroğlu in the leadership race.

According to Bahçeli, the court concluded that allegations of procedural irregularities during the congress had been substantiated and ruled the congress “absolutely null and void,” effectively treating it as legally invalid from the outset.

Bahçeli said the decision also invalidated subsequent ordinary and extraordinary party congresses and suspended Özel along with members of the party’s Central Executive Board, Party Assembly and High Disciplinary Board as a precautionary measure until the ruling becomes final.

He noted that the court had ordered the restoration of the pre-congress leadership structure, allowing Kılıçdaroğlu and the former party administration to temporarily resume authority pending final judicial review.

Bahçeli said the ruling could still be appealed before the Court of Cassation within two weeks after notification and noted that an appeal process had already been announced.

Referring to earlier comments he made this month, Bahçeli said developments had validated his previous position that the issue should be handled calmly and within the rule of law.

He stressed that preserving the CHP’s institutional identity should take precedence over political confrontation.

“Resistance instead of responsibility is unnecessary,” Bahçeli said, arguing that protecting the CHP’s historical and institutional character required all actors to act with restraint.

He also linked the issue to broader political stability, warning against internal struggles at a time when Türkiye faces regional security challenges and what he described as efforts toward a “terror-free Türkiye.”

Bahçeli urged both Kılıçdaroğlu and Özel to avoid public confrontation and instead seek a common path based on party rules, legal procedures and mutual concessions.

“Only compromise remains,” Bahçeli said, adding that acting with responsibility and avoiding provocation would serve both the CHP and the country.

He reiterated that Türkiye is a democratic state governed by the rule of law and called for unity, institutional respect and political stability in resolving the dispute over the opposition party’s leadership.

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Türkiye’s Supreme Election Council (YSK) convened an extraordinary meeting on Friday to consider an opposition party appeal on a court ruling that ousted its leader and annulled its congress.

An appeals court on Thursday cited unspecified irregularities in the Republican People’s Party’s (CHP) 2023 congress and reinstated the CHP’s former chair, Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, in place of current ⁠leader Özgür Özel.

Özel said the party would appeal the decision to the YSK and the Court of Cassation.

Early on Friday, CHP representative Mehmet Hadimi Yakupoğlu appealed to the YSK while CHP lawyers appealed to the Supreme Court, hours before Kılıçdaroğlu sacked three party lawyers who filed the appeal.

Following a Central Executive Committee meeting held after the court ruling, Özel said they were not considering establishing a second party against the decision, insisting he was the “true homeowner who stays and decides who lives in the home.”

The ousted party leader has also vowed to personally remain “day and night” in the CHP’s headquarters in Ankara.

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The first group of activists aboard the Global Sumud Flotilla bound for Gaza arrived in Türkiye on Thursday after being unlawfully detained by Israeli forces during an interception in international waters.

Hundreds of activists from countries around the world were placed in detention in Israel after they were intercepted at sea Monday while making the latest in a string of attempts to break the blockade of the Palestinian territory.

Turkish foreign ministry sources said 422 activists, among them 85 Turkish nationals, were flown from southern Israel on three planes chartered by Ankara.

A first group of arrivals was seen inside the VIP terminal at Istanbul airport, as a crowd of supporters carrying Palestinian flags gathered to welcome them, an AFP correspondent said.

Israeli forces “attacked us. Each of us was beaten, women and men… It’s what Palestinians experience all the time,” said Turkish national Bulal Kitay, after he got off the plane.

Israel’s far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir sparked widespread condemnation and a diplomatic backlash Wednesday by posting a video showing the detained activists with their hands tied and foreheads on the ground.

Israel’s foreign ministry spokesman, Oren Marmorstein, said Thursday that “all foreign activists from the PR flotilla have been deported from Israel.

“Israel will not permit any breach of the lawful naval blockade on Gaza,” he added.

Upon arrival at Istanbul airport, one of the activists shouted, “the Palestinian people are not alone!” as he emerged from the terminal.

“We’ve been tortured, we’ve been beaten, we’ve been arrested in international waters, but we won’t give up. We will return. Palestine will be free from the river to the sea,” he said to cheers from the crowd.

The legal center representing the flotilla members said earlier on Thursday that the majority were “en route for deportation” from Ramon Airport in Israel’s far south.

Adalah said they had been held at Israel’s Ktziot prison, in the Negev Desert near Gaza.

A spokesman for Adalah said activists from Egypt had been transferred to Taba at Egypt’s border with Israel, while those from Jordan had been transferred to Aqaba.

Around 50 vessels under the Global Sumud Flotilla set sail from Türkiye last week in the latest attempt by activists to breach Israel’s illegal blockade of Gaza, after Israeli forces intercepted a previous convoy last month.

The deportations come after footage posted by Ben Gvir, captioned “Welcome to Israel” and showing the minister heckling and waving an Israeli flag among the detained activists, sparked resounding condemnation by governments around the world, from Italy to Spain and Australia to Canada.

He was also criticized at home by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Foreign Minister Gideon Saar, as well as by U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee.

Italy and Spain have called on the European Union to sanction BenGvir, with Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani and Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez calling the treatment of the activists “unacceptable”.

In Ireland, a leaked letter revealed Prime Minister Micheal Martin urging the EU chief for “further action” against Israel over their treatment, including a ban on settlement goods and suspension “of parts if not all” of the EU’s Association Agreement with Israel.

The United Kingdom announced it had summoned Israel’s most senior diplomat in Britain following “the inflammatory video.”

Adalah’s legal director Suhad Bishara told AFP on Wednesday that the group’s lawyers had given legal counsel to “many” of the activists, though she added others had faced court hearings without legal assistance.

“We know of at least two participants who were hospitalized… both of them were shot by rubber bullets,” Bishara said, adding that others said they feared they had broken ribs.

Alessandro Mantovani, an Italian journalist detained with the flotilla activists and deported before the others, told reporters in Italy on Thursday that he and others were “taken to Ben Gurion airport in handcuffs and with chains on our feet and put on a flight to Athens.”

“They beat us up. They kicked us and punched us and shouted ‘Welcome to Israel’,” he said of his treatment by Israeli security forces.

Israel controls all entry points into Gaza, under an illegal blockade since 2007.

Since the start of the Gaza war in October 2023, the territory has suffered severe shortages of food, medicine and other essential supplies due to Israeli restrictions.

Activists say Palestinians endure far worse conditions than flotilla detainees

Algerian activist Muhammed Harkati, who was part of the Global Sumud Flotilla unlawfully detained by Israel in international waters, said the torture they endured could not be compared to the suffering faced by Palestinians.

Harkati, one of the activists who had set sail from Marmaris on May 14 in an effort to break Israel’s blockade on the Gaza Strip, spoke to Anadolu Agency (AA) at Istanbul Airport about the events following Israel’s raid on the flotilla.

He stressed that the mission was entirely humanitarian and aimed at breaking the blockade on Gaza.

“It was a humanitarian, peaceful mission. However, while we were in international waters, we were attacked and abducted. Afterwards, we were held in prison,” Harkati said.

He said activists from the flotilla were first taken to Ashdod Port in southern Israel after being detained.

“From Ashdod Port, we were taken to prison. There, we were beaten and tortured. The beatings and torture we endured cannot be compared to what our Palestinian brothers are suffering,” he said.

Harkati pointed out that the activists aboard the flotilla had the support of their countries and embassies, unlike Palestinians in Gaza.

“Palestinians do not have such an opportunity. We were able to eat and drink, but they cannot. So we cannot say they are living like us. There is a huge difference between us and them,” he added.

Speaking about the treatment they faced during interrogations in Israel, Harkati said they were tightly restrained and assaulted by soldiers while being transferred between interrogation rooms.

“During the interrogations, they tied us tightly. The soldier who took us from one room to another also beat us,” he said.

Harkati added that Israeli forces placed both plastic and steel handcuffs on the activists throughout their detention.

Mauritanian human rights activist Muhammed Baba, another participant in the flotilla, said Israeli forces attacked them using dogs.

“They unleashed a guard dog on me. It was hitting my chest and face with its muzzle. This attack happened just before we were taken to prison,” Baba said.

The Mauritanian activist said Israeli prison security officers carried out the attack after realizing the detainees were not afraid of them.

“They did this when they saw that we were not afraid of them,” he said.

On May 18, the Israeli military intercepted the flotilla of 50 boats carrying 428 activists from 44 countries while it was sailing toward Gaza in international waters and unlawfully detained the activists.

Among those detained were 78 Turkish participants. The activists were first taken to Ashdod Port before being transferred overnight to Ketziot Prison in the Negev Desert.