An Ankara court on Friday threw out a graft case against Turkey’s main opposition CHP on grounds it had no substance, an AFP journalist at the hearing said.
The case, which centred on alleged vote buying at a Republican People’s Party (CHP) primary in November 2023, was rejected by the judge on the grounds it was “moot”.
The lawsuit sought to overturn the result of the CHP vote on alleging vote rigging. That vote removed longtime party chairman Kemal Kilicdaroglu and elected Ozgur Ozel, who remains leader.
If successful, it could have unseated Ozel.
The judge said the reason for the lawsuit had become moot because the CHP had since held a fresh vote and re-elected its leadership.
His decision prompted applause from spectators in the court.
A lawyer for the plaintiffs admitted they were caught off guard by the ruling and pledged to appeal.
“We weren’t expecting the case to be dismissed, it was a surprise,” lawyer Onur Yusuf Uregen told reporters, vowing to “pursue legal action and file an appeal”.
Critics denounced the case as another politically motivated bid to undermine Turkey’s oldest political party, which won a huge victory over President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s AKP in 2024 local elections and has been rising in the polls.
The CHP denied the charges, accusing the government of using the judiciary to carry out a “political coup”.
To safeguard its leadership, it held another leadership vote at an extraordinary congress on September 21, at which it reelected Ozel.
bg-hmw/tw
© Agence France-Presse
