A court in Ankara postponed a key hearing on vote-buying charges that could shake the leadership of Turkey’s main opposition party – the CHP, which is already facing a growing number of legal challenges, AFP reported.

After more than an hour of debate, the judge postponed the case to October 24, a courtroom correspondent reported. The hearing could have a significant impact not only on the party but also on Turkish democracy.

Critics claim that the vote-buying case is a politically motivated attempt to weaken Turkey’s oldest political party, which achieved a major victory over President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s party – the AKP – in the 2024 local elections and has been gaining in opinion polls.

The CHP denies the allegations and accuses the government of using the judicial system to carry out a “political coup,” organizing a rally on Sunday evening in which thousands of protesters filled Tandoğan Square in Ankara in a large display of resistance.

At the opening of the hearing, the courtroom was filled with journalists and lawyers, while outside there was a heavy police presence with armed officers at the entrance and hundreds more in body armor waiting in nearby buses, the correspondent reported.

The case seeks to annul the results of the CHP congress in November 2023 over allegations of vote manipulation. During that vote, long-time party leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu was removed, and Özgür Özel was elected in his place. He remains the party leader to this day but could be removed if the case succeeds.

The indictment names Kılıçdaroğlu as an aggrieved party and seeks sentences of up to three years for 11 CHP mayors and officials for “falsifying votes.”

The CHP’s popularity has risen after the party led the largest street protests in Turkey in a decade, triggered in March by the detention of its presidential candidate, Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu.

“This case is political. The charges are slander… This is a coup, and we will resist,” Özel said to a sea of supporters waving flags in Ankara.

“We are facing the serious consequences of the Turkish government abandoning the 'train of democracy' and choosing to rule through repression rather than the ballot box… Unfortunately, anyone who represents a democratic threat to the government is now a target of the authorities.”

To protect its leadership, the CHP convened an extraordinary congress on September 21, which the party confirmed will proceed as planned. Delegates are expected to hold a new internal vote to reelect Özel.

According to a lawyer for the complainants, “the vote manipulation coordinated by İmamoğlu and Özel undermined the will of the congress,” claiming they “distributed money and offered jobs and business opportunities to delegates.”

The lawyer requested the court to declare the congress results null and void, immediately remove Özel, and reinstate Kılıçdaroğlu and his team in leadership positions.

CHP lawyer Çağdaş Karaküçük accused the court of “attempting to interfere in the internal affairs of a political party,” noting that the real goal is to return Kılıçdaroğlu to leadership “by force.”

Özel and eight other deputies are under investigation on similar charges, but their cases are being handled by a parliamentary committee since, as deputies, they have immunity.

On September 2, a court removed the leadership of the Istanbul branch of the CHP over vote-buying allegations at the provincial congress, appointing a trustee to manage the branch – a move widely seen as a test for the current case.

The decision sparked angry protests and caused a 5.5% drop in the stock market, raising concerns that the outcome could also affect Turkey’s fragile economy.

The detained mayor of Istanbul condemned the case as an attack on democracy.

“This is not just about the CHP; it is about the existence or absence of democracy in Turkey,” İmamoğlu told reporters after appearing in court on other charges. | BGNES