Overview

• More than 900 delegates filed a petition with an Ankara election board to authorize the congress, with signatures not taken from 196 suspended Istanbul delegates.
• A court annulled the October 2023 Istanbul provincial congress, removed leader Ozgur Celik and 195 others, and installed a five‑member caretaker that includes former MP Gursel Tekin.
• The court intervention coincided with a 5.5% plunge in the Istanbul stock market.
• The CHP has appealed the Istanbul ruling, and a closely watched lawsuit targeting the party’s national leadership is set to resume in Ankara on September 15.
• The developments follow the March jailing of Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu on charges he denies, which prompted large protests and nearly 2,000 detentions.