A TURKISH court issued a ruling on Thursday that effectively removed the head of the country’s main opposition party by annulling a 2023 congress that elected him.

The move deals a serious blow to the Republican People’s Party (CHP), as it struggles under waves of legal cases targeting its members and elected officials.

An appeals court in Turkey’s capital Ankara declared the CHP congress that picked Ozgur Ozel as chairman to be null, ordering that he should be replaced by his predecessor, Kemal Kilicdaroglu.

Last year, a lower court ruled against claims of irregularities and misconduct surrounding Mr Ozel’s election but Thursday’s decision overturned the original verdict.

The ruling led to frantic meetings at the CHP’s Ankara headquarters, further threatening the opposition’s chances of unseating President Recep Tayyip Erdogan after more than two decades in office. 

The next presidential election is due in 2028 but Mr Erdogan can call for an early vote. His main challenger, the CHP mayor of Istanbul Ekrem Imamoglu, has been imprisoned since March last year and is currently on trial on corruption charges.

The appeals court’s decision suspends Mr Ozel and members of the party’s executive board from their duties. They will be “provisionally” replaced by Mr Kilicdaroglu and those who held office before the November 2023 congress.

In comments to broadcaster TV100, Mr Kilicdaroglu called for party members to remain calm. “Our party is a very large party and it will solve its own problems internally,” he said. 

Mr Ozel, meanwhile, attempted to rally supporters.

“I am not promising you a path to power through a rose garden,” he posted on social media following the ruling. “I am promising you the ability to endure suffering but never surrender. I am promising you honour, dignity, courage and struggle!”

The CHP is expected to challenge Thursday’s ruling in the Supreme Court in the coming days.