Three prominent politicians of Türkiye’s main opposition, the Republican People’s Party (CHP), appealed to a court to have an upcoming party congress canceled, Turkish media reported Monday.
Three people, including the CHP’s former Hatay mayor Lütfü Savaş, who was expelled from his party last year, have appealed to a course of first instance to revoke the CHP’s decision to convene an extraordinary party congress on April 6 due to ongoing investigations into the CHP-run Istanbul municipality.
CHP chair Özgür Özel announced the congress last week amid a probe launched by an Ankara prosecutor into the party’s latest congress held in 2023 over irregularities. Savaş is also included in the 2023 CHP intra-party vote investigation that put Özel in power.
Savaş and other politicians, including congress delegates Levent Çelik and Hatip Karaaslan, argued the current CHP administration was “unauthorized” and its congress call went against the CHP’s charter, legislation and general principles of law.
Özel said the CHP would hold the congress to prevent the appointment of a trustee to the party after the CHP’s Istanbul mayor, Ekrem Imamoğlu, was detained on an array of charges, including aiding the PKK terrorist group.
Imamoğlu was arrested early on Sunday and charged with corruption while the court gave him parole on terrorism-linked charges.
Since then, the CHP has repeatedly called on supporters to take to the streets to demonstrate support for Imamoğlu and defied a ban on gatherings and assemblies by holding rallies outside the Istanbul municipality building throughout the week.
The CHP’s call was criticized by its main rival, the Justice and Development Party (AK Party), which accused it of inciting strife against the elected government.
Several extremist groups joined CHP supporters, especially in Istanbul, and videos circulating on social media showed some masked demonstrators removing hefty pavement stones and hurling them at riot police.
Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya announced late Sunday that 323 suspects were detained, and a police officer suffered from an acid attack in riots by Imamoğlu supporters.
Imamoğlu, meanwhile, was named the CHP’s presidential candidate for a future election in a primary on Sunday.
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