Turkish court dismisses chair of main opposition CHP in Istanbul, leading to a crash in the Turkish stock exchange.

In a dramatic turn of events, a Turkish court has annulled the Istanbul Provincial Congress of the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP), held two years ago on October 8, 2021. The ruling has intensified fears of political turmoil in Turkey and sent the BIST 100 index, the country's stock exchange, into a tailspin.

The court decision dismissed Provincial Chair Ozgur Celik, along with the current administration of the CHP. The annulment comes amid broader scrutiny of the party's internal elections. The ruling also suspended 196 delegates and ordered the halt of the ongoing congress process.

Ozgur Celik, in his first statement, said he was trying to understand the situation. As of the time of writing, no official notification had yet been received by Celik.

The court decision has left the Istanbul Provincial Directorate of the CHP without a clear leadership. According to available resources, no explicit name has been mentioned regarding who will oversee the directorate after the annulment of the party’s 38th Congress in October 2023.

The temporary committee appointed to run the Istanbul Provincial Directorate consists of Gursel Tekin, Zeki Sen, Hasan Babacan, Mujdat Gurbuz, and Erkan Narsap. Tekin, a former member of the CHP, resigned from the party last year.

The annulment of the CHP congress took place on the heels of the party's 38th Ordinary Congress held on Nov. 4-5, 2023. At this congress, Kemal Ozel was elected as the leader of the CHP. The Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor's Office has launched an investigation into allegations of vote-buying at the congress.

The 38th Ordinary Congress saw a close race between Ozgur Celik and Cemal Canpolat. Celik won with 342 votes, while Canpolat received 310. Celik was backed by Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu, while Canpolat was aligned with former CHP leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu.

The BIST 100 index opened the session at 11,304 on Tuesday but slumped by more than 5% following the court decision, falling to 10,624 as of 4:10 p.m. local time (GMT+3). The CHP Central Executive Board called an extraordinary meeting for 5 p.m. local time following the court decision.

The political developments in Turkey continue to unfold, and this article will be updated as more information becomes available.

Turkish court dismisses chair of main opposition CHP in Istanbul, leading to a crash in the Turkish stock exchange.