Turkey opposition wins court reprieve

ANKARA:

Turkey's embattled main opposition CHP, which faces a string of legal challenges, won some respite on Friday when an Ankara court threw out a lawsuit that could have ousted its leadership.

The case, which centred on alleged vote buying at its 2023 leadership primary, is one of a growing number of prosecutions targeting the Republican People's Party (CHP) that critics say are politically motivated.

The lawsuit sought to overturn the result of the primary that elected Ozgur Ozel and could have ousted him as party leader.

It was thrown out by the court on the grounds that one of the complainants was ineligible to file the lawsuit and that the basis for the case had become moot since the CHP had since held a fresh vote, re-electing its leadership.

The verdict triggered applause from spectators, among them a 75-year-old Ummu Gulsun Seyfi, a party stalwart since 1977, who accused the government of political meddling "instead of dealing with people's problems"