ANKARA
\nA Turkish court delayed a decision on Monday whether to oust the main opposition leader and annul his party\u2019s 2023 congress over alleged irregularities, in a case that has already deepened the country\u2019s political crisis.
\nThe judge in Ankara adjourned the case concerning the Republican People\u2019s Party (CHP) and its chairman, Ozgur Ozel, until October 24.
\nHundreds of CHP members, including President Tayyip Erdogan\u2019s main political rival, Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu, have been jailed pending trial in a separate, sprawling legal probe into alleged graft and terrorism links.
\nIf the court rules next month to annul the CHP\u2019s congress, that would strip Ozel – the party\u2019s combative, hoarse-voiced chair who has risen to prominence since Imamoglu\u2019s arrest – of the title that he won there.
\nCASE HAS SPURRED OPPOSITION DISARRAY, STREET PROTESTS
\nThe case is seen as a test of Turkey\u2019s shaky balance between democracy and autocracy. It threatens to deepen disarray and infighting in the opposition camp, boosting Erdogan\u2019s chances of extending his 22-year rule.
\nThe court rejected plaintiff requests to suspend Ozel, 50, and his administration pending a verdict, and it ordered the CHP and election boards to submit information on planned CHP general and Istanbul congresses next week, once they are done.
\nThe centrist CHP denies the charges against it and is level with Erdogan\u2019s Islamist-rooted, conservative AK Party (AKP) in opinion polls.
\nAnti-Erdogan street protests flared in recent days ahead of Monday\u2019s court ruling, and the case has badly rattled Turkish assets. The lira, stocks and bonds strengthened after Monday\u2019s adjournment decision.
\nThe opposition, human rights groups and some European leaders say the crackdown on the CHP is politically motivated and anti-democratic, charges rejected by the government, which says that Turkey\u2019s judiciary is independent.
\n\u201cThis is a serious moment that signals a regime change in Turkey from a competitive authoritarianism, in which opposition parties could still win elections, to a kind of hegemonic authoritarianism, in which they are more symbolic and unable to win,\u201d said Seren Selvin Korkmaz, co-founder and co-director of IstanPol Institute, an Istanbul-based think tank.
\nCRITICS SEE TURKEY SLIDING TOWARDS AUTOCRACY
\nThe legal crackdown on CHP, which began in October last year, has sharpened concerns over what critics call Turkey\u2019s slide towards autocracy, as the courts, the army, media, the central bank and other formerly more independent institutions have bent to Erdogan\u2019s will during his 22-year reign.
\nGovernment officials and some analysts say last year\u2019s local elections – in which the CHP swept most major cities in the biggest ever defeat for Erdogan\u2019s AKP – showed that NATO member Turkey remains a vibrant democracy, despite critics\u2019 concerns.
\nIf the court cancels the congress and ousts Ozel, it could name a trustee to run the party or reinstate former chairman Kemal Kilicdaroglu, whom Erdogan defeated in a 2023 election and who has since lost much trust within the CHP.
\nIt could also throw out the case, which was brought by a disgruntled CHP member.
\nA CHP lawyer told the court on Monday it lacked jurisdiction in the case, arguing that only Turkey\u2019s Supreme Election Board can adjudicate on party congress elections.
\nTurkish markets, on edge over rule of law concerns in the major emerging market economy, crashed in March when Imamoglu was jailed pending trial. The central bank briefly reversed a cycle of interest rate cuts to counter the turmoil.
\n\u201cUncertainties have merely been extended,\u201d said Ipek Ozkardeskaya, of Swissquote. \u201cThe worst-case scenario has been avoided, yet foreign investors\u2019 perception of Turkey\u2019s policy environment and investment outlook remains unchanged.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
ANKARA A Turkish court delayed a decision on Monday whether to oust the main opposition leader and annul his party\u2019s 2023 congress over alleged irregularities, in a case that has already deepened the country\u2019s political crisis. The judge in Ankara adjourned the case concerning the Republican People\u2019s Party (CHP) and its chairman, Ozgur Ozel, until […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":503099,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-503076","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n