Turkey political crisis deepens

Reuters May 23, 2026 Less than a minute read

ANKARA:

Turkey's opposition vowed on Friday to resist an unprecedented court ruling that ousted its leader, inflamed a political crisis and sent investors running from Turkish assets over concerns of increasing instability.

Analysts said the ruling, seen as a test of Turkey's shaky balance between democracy and autocracy, could prolong President Tayyip Erdogan's 23-year rule even as it risks another setback in the country's long battle against soaring inflation.

The appeals court on Thursday annulled the Republican People's Party's (CHP) 2023 congress at which leader Ozgur Ozel was chosen, citing unspecified irregularities. In his place, the court reinstated former CHP Chairman Kemal Kilicdaroglu, a divisive figure who lost to Erdogan in elections earlier that year.

The CHP condemned the ruling as a "judicial coup" and Ozel promised to fight it through legal appeals and to personally remain "day and night" in the main opposition party's headquarters in Ankara.