Thousands gathered to protest tonight after a court removed the leadership of the main opposition Republican People's Party in Istanbul on corruption charges, further increasing legal pressure on the party.

The Republican People's Party (CHP), which won a landslide victory over President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's Justice and Development Party (AKP) in the 2024 local elections and is climbing in the polls, condemned the move as a "judicial coup" and vowed to fight back.

The CHP has been hit by a series of arrests and court cases, the biggest of which was the jailing in March of the popular and influential mayor of Istanbul, Ekrem Imamoglu, considered the only candidate with a real chance of defeating Erdogan in the elections.

The September 2 ruling annulled the results of the CHP's provincial congress in Istanbul in October 2023, removing leader Yozgur Celik and 195 others and appointing a team of five to replace them. The court's decision caused the stock market to plummet by 5.5%.

The CHP filed an appeal against the decision today, AFP reported.

An almost identical lawsuit hangs over its national leadership in a closely watched case that will resume in Ankara on September 15.

"Government, resign!" chanted the crowd in Istanbul's Zeytinburnu district, a stronghold of Erdogan's AKP, waving Turkish flags, while CHP leader Ozgur Ozel promised that the party would not be intimidated.

"They think they will silence the CHP and appoint an opposition that suits them, but we will not obey. Not only the opposition is threatened, but also the multi-party system: this is a regime that usurps democracy," he said.

Last week, the Istanbul prosecutor brought charges against Çelik and nine other party members for alleged vote rigging at the 2023 congress. If found guilty, they could face up to three years in prison.

Political analyst Berk Esen said the move was a "dress rehearsal" for a larger case against the party's national leadership, aimed at neutralizing it as an opposition force.

"This marks a transition to full autocracy and signals the end of the multi-party system in the country as we know it. The government is taking measured steps to turn the CHP into a controlled opposition," he explained.

At the upcoming hearing in Ankara, the court will resume consideration of the charges of vote rigging at the CHP congress in November 2023, seeking to overturn the result of the primary election for party leader.

If successful, this could lead to Yozel's removal and him and several others, including Imamoglu, receiving up to three years in prison for vote rigging.

The CHP denies the allegations. Critics believe that this is a politically motivated move aimed at undermining the party, whose popularity has grown since it led a wave of street protests against Imamoglu's removal.

As a result of legal pressure on the party since October 2024, hundreds of its elected representatives have been detained on corruption charges, which critics say are unfounded. Among them are 17 mayors from the CHP. | BGNES