In the lawsuit filed for the cancellation of the congress held in Istanbul on October 8, 2023, the court ruled today with an interim decision to dismiss CHP Istanbul Provincial Chairman Özgür Çelik and his board.

In its decision, the Istanbul 45th Civil Court of First Instance ruled that Çelik, the main and alternate members of the provincial executive board, and the main and alternate members of the provincial disciplinary board be suspended from their duties.

GÜRSEL TEKİN APPOINTED TO PROVINCIAL ADMINISTRATION



In place of the names suspended from duty, a temporary administration consisting of Gürsel Tekin, Zeki Şen, Hasan Babacan, Müjdat Gürbüz and Ekran Narsap was appointed.

"THE ATTORNEY GENERAL'S OFFICE PERSONALLY DETECTED"

CNN Türk Correspondent Merve Tokaz, who reported the latest developments in the CHP, said, “The CHP Istanbul Provincial Congress was canceled by a court decision and the Özgür Çelik administration was dismissed. The decision was made by the primary civil court. The indictment was completed in the investigation launched recently regarding the allegations that the Istanbul Provincial Congress was questionable. The prosecutor's office requested prison sentences of 1 to 3 years for 10 suspects, including Özgür Çelik and others, and also requested that they be deprived of their political rights. We mentioned the decision made by the 45th primary civil court. In this context, a 5-page interim decision was made in the decision that was given, ‘The superior board, elected by the Republican People's Party in the 38th Ordinary Provincial Congress held on 08.10.2023 and included in the decision of the Sarıyer 1st District Election Board dated 11.10.2023, decided to remove the Congress delegates from their posts as a precaution, and the CHP Central Executive Board decided to remove the delegates from their positions as a precaution. In accordance with the decision taken on July 14, 2025, the 39th Ordinary Congress process was initiated. Among the election campaigns on the congress calendar, it was decided that only the district congresses and provincial congress election campaigns to be held by the Istanbul Provincial Organization would be suspended as a precautionary measure, and the delegates to the CHP 38th Ordinary Provincial Congress would be removed from office as a precautionary measure. The indictment in question also included telephone conversations between some voters and some on duty at the time. The Chief Public Prosecutor's Office personally established how those money conversations took place and how those negotiations took place.

The first statement came from CHP Istanbul Provincial Chair Gürsel Tekin. Speaking to TGRT News, Tekin said,"It was a surprise for me, too. I will do everything in my power to free our party from the corridors of the courthouse. We are not leaving our party to the trustee. We will lead the CHP to the congress in unity and solidarity. All the members of the delegation are CHP members. The CHP is our home, our nest, our everything. May all our friends rest in peace. CHP members will govern the CHP."

Meanwhile, the investigation into the CHP Istanbul Provincial Election has concluded. An indictment has been issued against 10 party officials, including Provincial Chairman Özgür Çelik, Beyoğlu Mayor İnan Güney, and Beşiktaş Mayor Rıza Akpolat, for"vote rigging," seeking prison sentences of one to three years.

The investigation into the CHP Istanbul Provincial Election has concluded. An indictment has been issued against 10 party officials, including Provincial Chair Özgür Çelik, Beyoğlu Mayor İnan Güney, and Beşiktaş Mayor Rıza Akpolat, for"vote rigging," seeking prison sentences of one to three years.

The prepared indictment explained that the investigation began with a tip-off to the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office. The tip alleged that Beşiktaş Municipal Council Member Fahrettin Çırak, Beyoğlu Mayor İnan Güney, and two provincial delegates from the Beykoz district offered money to vote for Özgür Çelik in the Republican People's Party (CHP) Istanbul Provincial Congress elections.

A CD submitted alongside the report revealed footage showing four male individuals discussing the elections. An expert's analysis of the conversations revealed that the second male individual said,"We won't do you any wrong," while the first male individual said,"Why wouldn't we take money from you and vote for you?" The indictment, which includes the entirety of the conversations, stated that two delegates were offered 150,000 lira to vote for Özgür Çelik in the provincial elections, but because the delegates deemed this amount insufficient, they requested 750,000 lira for three delegates.

“WE WANTED 750 THOUSAND LIRA”

Investigations revealed that one of the individuals identified as Beykoz Municipality Private Secretary Veli Gümüş was identified as the person. In his statement included in the indictment, Gümüş stated that Fahrettin Çırak and Rıza Akpolat offered them 100,000 lira to vote for Özgür Çelik."We wanted to see where this offer would go," he said, adding,"that this amount was too small and that we wanted a total of 750,000 lira for two people."

“WE ALREADY SUPPORTED CEMAL CANPOLAT”

Gümüş explained that the audio recording in the file began after a certain point, and stated that he did not receive the money and gave the recording to Beykoz District Chairman Mahir Taştan. He also stated that Taştan forwarded the recording to Canan Kaftancıoğlu, adding,"I know that Canan also forwarded this recording to then-Chairman Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu. Our goal was to prove that the candidate who fielded an opposing candidate was trying to influence the election by distributing money to people. That's why we went there. We also supported Cemal Canpolat, the candidate from the headquarters, in the provincial chairman elections."

REQUEST FOR 1 TO 3 YEARS OF PRISON PENALTY

The indictment explained that, after an investigation, the audio recording, expert report, suspect Veli Güneş's confessional statements, and HTS records in the file were examined together. It was determined that the suspects, acting in concert, rigged the election and voting at the CHP Istanbul Provincial Congress by providing money and promising jobs to some delegates to support Özgür Çelik. The indictment seeks prison sentences of one to three years for the suspects on charges of"rigging the vote."