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A Turkish court has thrown out a case that sought to remove the head of the nation’s biggest opposition party, triggering a stock market rally.
Turkey’s main Borsa Istanbul index rose more than 4 per cent after a court in Ankara dismissed the suit against the Republican People’s party (CHP), in a sign that investors hoped it could ease political tensions in the country.
The case, which was filed in February, centred on alleged irregularities in the 2023 CHP congress that elected Özgür Özel as its new head. If the case had succeeded, Özel would have been replaced and his party thrown into chaos.
Government critics viewed it as part of a wider crackdown against the party that was established by Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, Turkey’s founding leader.
The CHP has come under intense pressure since Istanbul mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu, its presidential candidate, was arrested on corruption charges in March.
That sparked the biggest street protests in a decade as CHP supporters viewed it as further evidence of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan pushing Turkey down an increasingly autocratic path.
In an interview with the Financial Times last month, Özel accused the government of mounting a legal “coup” against his party, which delivered Erdogan’s Justice and Development party (AKP) a stinging defeat at local elections last year, winning 38 per cent of the vote.
Critics accuse Erdoğan, who has towered over the Nato member’s political landscape for more than two decades, of becoming increasingly autocratic.
Many Turks suspect that he intends to extend his presidential rule beyond the two terms currently allowed by the constitution. The next election is scheduled for 2028.
İmamoğlu, who has denied the charges against him, is widely considered to be the most serious political challenger to Erdoğan.
The government insists the country’s courts are independent and that the cases are not politically motivated.
