The Supreme Election Council (YSK) rejected the Republican People’s Party’s (CHP) objection on May 22, 2026, regarding a court ruling of absolute nullity. This decision upholds the removal of Özgür Özel and his management, effectively reinstating Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu and previous party organs following the invalidation of the 38th Ordinary Convention.
The legal earthquake centered on the Ankara Regional Court of Appeals 36th Civil Chamber, which issued a ruling of absolute nullity concerning the CHP’s 38th Ordinary Convention held on November 4-5, 2023. As reported by TRT Haber, the court overturned a previous local court decision that had dismissed the case as moot, instead ruling that the convention was void from its inception.
The implications are total. The court did not merely suggest a correction; it ordered the cancellation of the 2023 convention and every ordinary or extraordinary convention and decision made thereafter. This legal erasure reinstates the party leadership and organs as they existed prior to the November 2023 event, placing Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu back at the helm.
The YSK Refusal to Intervene
Facing an existential leadership crisis, the CHP sought a lifeline from the YSK. The party’s representative, Mehmet Hadimi Yakupoğlu, filed a digital application arguing that the court’s interim injunction was practically and legally impossible to execute. The party contended that because subsequent congresses were held under YSK supervision and new certificates of election (mazbatas) were issued, those officials should remain in their posts.
The YSK, however, remained unmoved. Following a board meeting on May 22, YSK President Serdar Mutta clarified that the council is not the authority responsible for the execution of court decisions. According to Haber 7, the YSK formally rejected the CHP’s request to determine that current officials should continue their duties based on the constitution’s article 79.
“The decision for the provisional removal of Özgür Özel and his management from duty and for Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu to take over the party management.
This rejection leaves the Özel administration with almost no immediate legal shield within the electoral regulatory framework, shifting the battle entirely to the Court of Cassation (Yargıtay) and the streets.
Voiding Three Years of Party Evolution
The “absolute nullity” ruling is not just a change in personnel; it is a temporal reset of the party’s entire operational identity. As analyzed by the BBC, this is a historic first for a Turkish political party. The ruling renders every major decision made in the last three years void.
- Structural Offices: The Presidential Candidate Office, established under the party bylaws, is now considered non-existent.
- Policy Frameworks: The new party program and all subsequent bylaw amendments are nullified.
- Leadership Organs: The current Party Assembly (PM) and High Disciplinary Board (YDK) are dissolved, returning authority to those elected at the 37th Ordinary Convention on July 25-26, 2020.
This creates a chaotic administrative vacuum. The individuals who held power in 2020 may have since resigned, been elected as mayors, or shifted their allegiances to the “change” camp led by Özel. The party is now legally tethered to a leadership structure that may no longer reflect its current internal political reality.
The Resistance of the Özel Administration
Özgür Özel has framed this legal maneuver not as a judicial correction, but as a targeted political strike. Speaking from a campaign bus, Özel linked the ruling to the party’s success in the March 31, 2024 local elections, where the CHP became the first party in 47 years to lead the polls, winning over 65% of the population and 84% of the economy in terms of municipal representation.
“We are in resistance to protect the father’s hearth. We will show our democratic reaction, but if the coup is not withdrawn, we will not stop; we will march wherever we need to march.
The rhetoric from the current leadership is one of defiance. The Central Executive Board (MYK) has officially decided to refuse to recognize the decision. Murat Emir, CHP Group Deputy Chairman, echoed this sentiment, describing the ruling as a wrong, unfair, and unlawful decision orchestrated by the “Palace.”
Özel’s strategy is to move the conflict from the courtroom to the public square, claiming that the true judgment will come from the conscience of the people rather than “judges’ robes.”
Kılıçdaroğlu’s Return and Internal Fractures
While the court has cleared the path for Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu to resume control, the return is fraught with complexity. Kılıçdaroğlu has reportedly sent messages stating that he will not allow the party to split, yet the internal landscape has shifted dramatically since 2020.
The tension lies in the “change” movement. Many who were once part of Kılıçdaroğlu’s inner circle now form the backbone of the Özel administration. If Kılıçdaroğlu returns to a Party Assembly (PM) and delegate base that has evolved, his ability to enact decisions may be severely hampered. The party is effectively split between legal legitimacy (the court’s ruling) and political legitimacy (the current leadership’s support base).
The next 30 days will likely see a collision between the court-mandated leadership and the resisting current administration. With the YSK refusing to intervene, the CHP faces a choice: a messy legal handover, a prolonged internal schism, or a sudden extraordinary convention to legitimize a new path forward.
