Turkey's main opposition party has re-elected its leader in an apparent attempt to shield him and other senior party officials from a court ruling that could order their removal.
Ozgur Ozel, the head of the Republican People’s Party (CHP) was re-elected as leader in an extraordinary congress held in the Turkish capital Ankara on Sunday.
The CHP hopes that Mr Ozel’s re-election will provide protection from a legal case that seeks to invalidate the results of a 2023 congress, at which he was voted in as party leader.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan called the vote “tainted” and a “fraudulent process”.
An Ankara court could rule as early as next month on whether to annul the 2023 CHP congress over alleged irregularities, which the party leader denies.
The re-election, in which Mr Ozel was the sole candidate and won all valid 835 votes cast, may provide a new basis for the CHP to prove to the court that he has continuing legitimacy and a new mandate.
“The party is under attack, and they are trying every possible method,” Mr Ozel said after his re-election vote, in remarks reported by AFP news agency.
“Our legal experts and administrators are taking the most appropriate measures against this. With the holding of this congress, all their (legal) arguments are eliminated.”
The CHP made significant gains against Mr Erdogan’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) in local elections last year, taking control of municipalities across the country.
In recent months hundreds of CHP officials have been arrested, in what critics see as politically motivated cases against them.
Twelve CHP members face charges that range from offering delegates cash and jobs to breaching Turkey's political parties law, Reuters reported. All deny wrongdoing.
They include the popular Mayor of Istanbul, Ekrem Imamoglu, who is widely seen as the most serious challenger to Mr Erdogan in presidential elections slated for 2028. He was arrested in March on corruption charges, days before he was due to announce his official candidacy for the presidential run, and has remained in prison since then.
