The former chair of the Republican People’s Party (CHP) refused on Friday to testify as a “victim” in an ongoing trial against the party over alleged vote buying in a 2023 ordinary congress.
“I am watching with sadness and concern as the party that has founded the Republic is discussed in the halls of courthouses,” Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu said in a post on X.
He said he had been previously invited to be consulted on the case but refused to go.
“Today, I was summoned to court as a victim but my stance remains unchanged and that is why I will not be accepting the invitation,” he wrote.
The lawsuit, filed by a former CHP mayor and several other delegates, seeks to cancel the party’s 38th Ordinary Congress held on Nov. 4-5, 2023, in which Chairperson Özgür Özel allegedly “bought” supporters to oust Kılıçdaroğlu, his predecessor, in an intraparty election held at the congress.
It also asks to suspend all CHP officials linked to the congress. If the court rules to annul the congress that elected Özel as CHP chair, a trustee would be assigned to administer Türkiye’s oldest political party, who would then call for an extraordinary congress within 45 days.
The CHP, in its response to the court, requested the case’s dismissal, citing the provisions of the legislation that the annulment of a decision taken at the congress could be requested within a maximum of three months from the date of the decision.
Several eyewitnesses testified in court about the allegations that delegates were made to vote in exchange for money at the said congress.
The investigation by the Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office in Ankara over the bribery claims has been underway since last month. It is based on the legal complaints of CHP delegates who told investigators that they were offered bribes ranging from cash and houses to prominent jobs in municipalities the party runs.
Prosecutors took the testimonies of some 86 people, including CHP former Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoğlu, who is under arrest and suspended from duty. Imamoğlu is also accused of orchestrating the scheme to sway at least 150 delegates against Kılıçdaroğlu.