A Turkish court reinstates Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu as leader of the Republican People’s Party after annulling the party’s general congress
A political earthquake in Türkiye with judicial rhyme, as a Turkish court ruled on Thursday to reinstate former Republican People’s Party leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu and his administration to the party’s temporary leadership, after annulling the 38th general congress of the main opposition party, which was held in November 2023.
The 36th Civil Chamber of the Ankara Regional Court of Justice ruled that the conference of November 4 and 5, 2023, during which Özgür Özel was elected as party leader, was invalid due to what it described as “absolute invalidity,” meaning that the conference was cancelled retroactively from the date it was held.
The court also ordered the temporary removal from office of Özel and the members of the Central Executive Council, the Party Council, and the Supreme Disciplinary Council who were elected during the conference, until the ruling becomes final.
Instead, it was decided that Kılıçdaroğlu and the party bodies that were in charge before the November 2023 conference would resume their work temporarily, pending a final judicial decision.
The ruling came after the Court of Appeal completed its review of a decision issued by the 42nd Civil Court of First Instance in Ankara on October 24, 2025, in a lawsuit demanding the annulment of the Republican People’s Party conference.
The appeals court overturned the lower court’s decision, which held that “there is no need to issue a ruling because the case has become moot,” and instead accepted the appeals concerning the main case and the joined files.
The court also ruled that all regular and extraordinary conferences held within the party after the canceled November 2023 conference, as well as all decisions adopted during those meetings, were legally invalid.
The court also invalidated the conference of the Republican People’s Party branch in Istanbul, which was held on October 8, 2023, and all decisions issued by it, based on the same reasons.
According to the ruling, the precautionary measures for temporarily remove Özel and reinstating Kılıçdaroğlu to the Supreme Election Council, the Ankara Provincial Election Board, the Çankaya Fourth District Election Board, and the Ankara Provincial Council will be sent for implementation.
The decision was issued unanimously, and can be appealed before the Court of Cassation within two weeks.
