ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq - Ankara's Regional Court of Appeals on Thursday temporarily suspended Ozgur Ozel's leadership of the opposition Republican People's Party (CHP), with former leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu to take charge of the party during the suspension, according to Turkey’s state run Anadolu Agency.

The Ankara Regional Court of Appeals ruled that the CHP’s November 4-5, 2023 congress, where Ozel defeated longtime party leader Kilicdaroglu, was invalid due to what the court described as “absolute nullity,” Anadolu reported.

After the CHP lost the 2024 Turkish presidential election in a landslide and voted to oust its leadership, Kilicdaroglu, who had led the party for almost 14 years, took a legal case against Ozel, claiming that the congress that saw him replaced had been carried out illegally. 

The court on Thursday ordered Ozel, members of the party’s Central Executive Board, Party Assembly and High Disciplinary Board to be temporarily removed from their posts until a final ruling is issued.

It also ruled that Kilicdaroglu and the party leadership in place before the 2023 congress should resume their duties during the legal process.

In its decision, the court said the annulment meant that “all ordinary and extraordinary congresses held after this date and all decisions taken at these congresses are invalid.”

The ruling can be appealed before Turkey’s top appeals court, the Yargitay, within two weeks.

The administration of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his Justice and Development Party (AK Party) has heavily cracked down on the CHP after it secured major victories in the 2024 local elections, with party officials having been arrested on myriad charges.

Among them is jailed Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu, a leading rival to Erdogan, who is facing separate corruption and espionage related trials that he says are politically motivated.

Imamoglu has been imprisoned for more than a year and is currently standing trial alongside 413 co-defendants. Prosecutors are seeking up to 2,430 years in prison if he is convicted.

The court’s ruling also annulled the CHP Istanbul provincial congress held on October 8, 2023, along with all decisions taken during that gathering.