Judicial Clash Over CHP İstanbul Congress

Türkiye’s political and legal arenas were shaken when the İstanbul 45th Civil Court of First Instance ordered the suspension of the CHP İstanbul Provincial Congress, directly contradicting a prior ruling from the Supreme Election Council (YSK) that declared, “a congress already in progress cannot be stopped.”

The rare judicial standoff has triggered confusion, urgent interventions, and a wave of political debate over the boundaries between electoral law and judicial authority.

Background: A Disputed Congress

The dispute stems from the CHP’s 38th İstanbul Provincial Congress, which has been mired in lawsuits since its initial organization.

• Earlier, the İstanbul 45th Civil Court annulled the congress in an interim decision, suspending Provincial Chair Özgür Çelik and his administration, and appointing veteran politician Gürsel Tekin as trustee (kayyım).

• However, Çelik and his team appealed to the Sarıyer 1st District Election Board, which approved their request for an extraordinary congress scheduled for 24 September 2025.

• The YSK, Türkiye’s top election authority, upheld this process and emphasized that once a congress begins, it cannot be legally interrupted.

This set the stage for an institutional confrontation.

The Court’s Suspension Order

Despite the YSK’s stance, the İstanbul 45th Civil Court of First Instance issued a written directive to the İstanbul Governorship and the Sarıyer 1st District Election Board ordering the suspension of congress preparations.

The court’s letter, dated 24 September 2025, stated:

“The precautionary ruling remains valid as no appellate process has yet overturned it. Unless lifted or altered by the İstanbul Regional Court of Appeals, the planned CHP İstanbul Provincial Congress on 24 September 2025 stands in violation of the court’s decision. Therefore, congress preparations must be halted.”

Court officers, escorted by a large police presence, delivered the notification directly at the congress venue, escalating tensions.

YSK Calls Emergency Meeting

The intervention prompted the YSK to convene an extraordinary meeting to address the conflicting rulings. The Council must now determine whether its constitutional authority over elections and congresses outweighs the jurisdiction of lower civil courts.

This unusual clash between Türkiye’s highest electoral authority and a first-instance civil court has raised urgent legal questions:

• Can a local court override YSK decisions regarding political party congresses?

• What happens if police enforce the suspension order despite YSK’s contrary ruling?

• How will the appeals process shape the final outcome?

The Political Fallout

The struggle over the İstanbul congress is more than a procedural battle — it carries major political implications:

• For CHP: İstanbul is its most populous and strategically important provincial branch, with influence over national congress delegate distribution. Leadership disputes here can tilt intra-party balances ahead of general assemblies.

• For Turkish politics: The judiciary–electoral authority clash feeds into ongoing debates about judicial independence, separation of powers, and the rule of law in party politics.

• For public trust: The spectacle of simultaneous, contradictory rulings risks undermining citizens’ confidence in electoral processes.

Next Steps

At the time of writing, the congress stands caught between two opposing directives:

• YSK insists the congress is valid and cannot be stopped.

• İstanbul 45th Civil Court insists the congress violates its prior suspension order.

With the YSK’s emergency session underway and police already deployed to enforce the court order, the situation remains fluid. The İstanbul Regional Court of Appeals may soon be forced to clarify jurisdictional boundaries.

Until then, the CHP İstanbul Provincial Congress hangs in the balance — a symbol of both party infighting and Türkiye’s ongoing struggle to reconcile judicial and electoral authority.