ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq - Turkey’s main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) pressed on with its Istanbul provincial congress despite a city court ordering its suspension on accusations of violating a previous precautionary decision, state media reported Wednesday.

“The holding of the CHP Istanbul Provincial Congress elections on September 24, 2025, without the removal or amendment of the interim decision issued by our court by the Istanbul Regional Court of Justice, which is the legal authority, is contrary to our court order, and the proceedings must be suspended,” a court letter said.

At an extraordinary Sunday congress, CHP re-elected its leader, Ozgur Ozel, with the party fighting a series of lawsuits and arrests. One such lawsuit is seeking to overturn the results of CHP’s November 2023 congress and oust Ozel as party leader, citing vote rigging. 

After his re-election, Ozel stressed that “the party is under attack, and they are trying every possible method.” 

According to the court letter, a September 2 interim ruling suspended the CHP’s Istanbul provincial board, congress delegates, and froze upcoming party congresses. 

Under Ozel’s leadership, the CHP secured major victories and ousted the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) in the March 2024 local elections, but the opposition party has since been hit with arrests and court cases.

In March, Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu, seen as President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s chief rival, was arrested on corruption charges and removed from office, which triggered Turkey’s worst opposition protests in a decade.

Earlier, in January, Ahmet Ozer, the Kurdish CHP mayor of Istanbul’s Esenyurt district, was jailed over alleged Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) ties and swiftly replaced by a state-appointed trustee. The party has since been struck by waves of arrests.

CHP leaders have rejected the accusations, calling them politically driven efforts to sideline challengers ahead of the 2028 presidential race.