ANKARA: A Turkish court today delayed until September a hearing on a case that could oust the leader of the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP), Ozgur Ozel, by potentially annulling the 2023 congress at which he was elected.
An initial hearing had been set for today.
The next hearing will be on Sept 8.
Stripping Ozel of his chairmanship would mark the latest judicial blow to opponents of president Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
He is a potential challenger in future elections after Istanbul mayor Ekrem Imamoglu – the party’s elected presidential candidate – was jailed in March.
The lawsuit, filed by a CHP member, seeks to overturn results of the party’s 38th ordinary congress in November 2023 over procedural irregularities.
At that congress, Ozel had replaced Kemal Kilicdaroglu, who lost to Erdogan in presidential elections earlier that year.