Tens of thousands of people protested in Ankara ahead of a key court hearing today targeting Turkey's main opposition Republican People's Party (RPP), which could lead to a change in its leadership.

Critics say the vote-buying case is a politically motivated attempt to undermine Turkey's oldest political party, which won a landslide victory over President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's Justice and Development Party (AKP) in the 2024 local elections and is enjoying growing popularity in the polls.

The CHP denies the allegations and accuses the government of trying to neutralize it as an opposition force.

Its popularity surged after it led Turkey's biggest street protests in a decade in March, sparked by the arrest of its presidential candidate, Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu, Erdogan's main opposition.

At least 50,000 people attended a rally in the capital Ankara, where CHP leader Ozgur Ozel called on the crowd to take a "stand" against the legal attack.

"This case is political, the charges are slander. This is a coup (and) we will resist," he said.

"We are facing the dire consequences of the Turkish government abandoning the 'train of democracy' and choosing to rule through oppression rather than the ballot box," Yozel added.

"Unfortunately, anyone who poses a democratic threat to the government is now a target of the government," the CHP leader said.

The case seeks to overturn the results of the CHP's November 2023 congress on the grounds of vote rigging. The congress removed the party's long-time chairman Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu and elected Yozel.

The indictment names Kılıçdaroğlu as the injured party and seeks up to three years in prison for İmamoğlu and 10 other mayors and CHP officials for "vote rigging." .

If the case is successful, Yozel could be removed from his leadership position.

Yozel and eight other deputies are also under investigation on similar charges, but their case is being heard by a parliamentary committee because they all have immunity.

On September 2, the court removed the leadership of the CHP branch in Istanbul on charges of vote buying at the provincial congress and appointed an administrator to take over, in a move widely seen as a test for today's case.

The decision sparked angry protests and caused the stock market to fall 5.5%, raising concerns that the outcome could hurt Turkey's fragile economy.

If the court in Ankara overturns the results of the CHP congress, it could herald the return of former leader Kilicdaroglu, who suffered a series of election defeats that left the party in crisis.

According to experts, such a decision is likely to cause serious internal conflict at the CHP headquarters in Ankara.

In an attempt to defend its leadership, the CHP called an extraordinary congress on September 21, which means that if the court removes Yozel and reinstates Kilicdaroglu, members could simply vote for Yozel six days later.

The imprisoned mayor of Istanbul condemned the hearing as an attack on democracy.

"This is not a matter of the CHP, but of the existence or absence of democracy in Turkey," Imamoglu said after appearing in court on unrelated charges.

When Yozel took office in November 2023, the CHP was in crisis, but by March 2024, he had led the party to a convincing victory in local elections.

Yozel became the face of the massive street protests that erupted after Imamoglu was arrested, and since then has led weekly protests across Turkey that draw huge crowds, angering Erdogan.

Today's court hearing begins at 10:00 a.m. at the 42nd Civil Court of First Instance in the Turkish capital.

BGNES recalls that the pressure on opposition voices in Turkey is not limited to the legal battles surrounding the CHP. In recent weeks, the authorities have also turned their attention to the cultural sphere, cracking down on the growing pop phenomenon "Manifest," which had captured the imagination of young Turks.

In just a few months, the girl group "Manifest," formed in early 2025 after participating in Big5 Turkiye, took over the charts and sold out concerts across the country. Their beautiful choreography, reminiscent of South Korean K-pop, and their lyrics, which resonated with disillusioned youth, made them overnight icons. But their "provocative" stage presence and chants of "Right, law, justice," a slogan often repeated during protests, whose echoes carried through the crowd, quickly drew the wrath of Turkey's conservative elite.

After a concert on September 6 in Istanbul, the six members of Manifesto were accused of "indecent behavior" and "public indecency."

The group is now under judicial supervision and has been banned from traveling, while videos of their performances have been blocked from broadcast for reasons related to "national security and public order."

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's advisers publicly declared the group "immoral" and demanded that it be held accountable, while feminist organizations rushed to its defense, warning that women's rights and artistic freedom were under direct attack. | BGNES