CHP was on the judiciary's agenda in September: What happened day by day?

Judicial proceedings regarding Republican People's Party (CHP) politicians, congresses, and provincial and district congresses have been ongoing throughout September. While lawsuits seeking the annulment of the 38th Ordinary Congress and the 21st Extraordinary Congress continue, Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality (IMM) Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu appeared before a judge.

We have compiled the CHP's September judicial agenda for you .

September 2 : The court dismissed the CHP 38th Ordinary Istanbul Provincial Congress administration, which elected CHP Istanbul Provincial Chair Özgür Çelik. A trustee committee chaired by former CHP Istanbul Provincial Chair Gürsel Tekin was appointed to the provincial chair.

In his first statement, Gürsel Tekin said , "We will not leave our party to a 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."

September 4 : The CHP Istanbul district congresses were canceled. The Ataşehir, Esenyurt, Sarıyer, Tuzla, Bakırköy, and Başakşehir district congresses were canceled by the district election boards.

September 5 : The Supreme Election Council (YSK) accepted the CHP's application to overturn the decisions of the district election boards in Istanbul that CHP district congresses could not be held, using its "complete illegality" authority.

September 6 : The CHP headquarters decided to hold an extraordinary congress on September 21. An application for an extraordinary congress was submitted to the Çankaya District Election Board with the delegates' signatures. The 196 Istanbul supreme council delegates suspended by the Istanbul 45th Civil Court of First Instance were not among the signatories.

September 10 : The Constitutional Court (AYM) brought the application for the annulment of the relevant provision of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CMK) regarding the "duty" dispute between the courts in the criminal case filed against the CHP for alleged irregularities at its 38th Ordinary Congress to the agenda of the General Assembly.

September 11 : The Ankara 3rd Civil Court of First Instance rejected the CHP's request to cancel the Istanbul Provincial Congress held on October 8, 2023. The court also rejected the lawsuit to cancel the 38th CHP Congress held on November 4-5, 2023, on procedural grounds, citing "the same lawsuit having been filed previously."

• The Constitutional Court rejected Beylikdüzü Mayor Mehmet Murat Çalık's application for release. Çalık's lawyers had argued that his health was unsuitable for detention in prison conditions. The court rejected this request.

September 12 : Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu, currently imprisoned at the Marmara Prison in Silivri, appeared before a judge regarding his diploma transfer from the University College of Northern Cyprus. Questioning how an 18-year-old student could commit these accusations, İmamoğlu stated in his defense, "I'm so free in 12 square meters that I'd be in a palace." The prosecutor requested a prison sentence of 2 years, 6 months to 8 years, 9 months for İmamoğlu on charges of "consecutive forgery of official documents." The next hearing was adjourned until October 20 .

September 15 : The lawsuit filed by former Hatay Mayor Lütfü Savaş and some delegates, regarding the cancellation of the CHP's 38th Ordinary Congress held on November 4-5, 2023, and the 21st Extraordinary Congress held on April 6, 2025, was heard at the Ankara 42nd Civil Court of First Instance on September 15. A postponement decision was issued at this hearing, and the hearing was adjourned until October 24 .

After the lawsuit requesting the annulment of the congresses was postponed to October 24th, objections were raised to the decision to hold an extraordinary congress. Some delegates who submitted objections to the CHP's extraordinary congress, scheduled for Sunday, September 21st, alleged that the 196 Istanbul delegates, who had been suspended by court order, were included in the signing process despite not having legal authority to sign.

The lawyers Hüseyin Ersöz and Enes Ermaner once again objected to the decision regarding the continued detention of Şişli Mayor Resul Emrah Şahan, who was arrested on March 23 as part of the urban reconciliation investigation, and Şahan's release was requested.

September 17 : The Çankaya 4th District Election Board rejected the CHP headquarters' request yesterday to annul the 22nd Extraordinary Congress decision. District election board decisions are final and can be appealed to the Supreme Election Council (YSK) on the grounds of "complete illegality."

September 18 : The trial of deputy mayors and municipal council members arrested on the grounds of past Peoples' Democratic Congress (HDK) activities within the scope of the urban reconciliation investigation is being heard.

September 22 : CHP Istanbul Provincial Chair Özgür Çelik will appear before the judge in the case regarding the events that took place in front of the Çağlayan Courthouse on January 31, where Ekrem İmamoğlu went to give his statement.

September 26 : Ekrem İmamoğlu's "expert case" hearing will be held. İmamoğlu, who exposed an expert at the center of investigations into CHP municipalities in a statement he made in January titled "The Big One," will face a sentence of two to four years in prison and a political ban on charges of "attempting to influence a judicial officer, expert, or witness."

(ANKA)