Sawt Falasteen - Turkey court tries case that could oust opposition leadership

Critics say the vote-buying case is a politically motivated attempt to undermine Turkey's oldest political party, which won a huge victory over President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's AKP in 2024 local elections and has been rising in the polls.

The CHP denies the charges and has accused the government of trying to defang it as an opposition force.

Its popularity has grown since it led Turkey's biggest street protests in a decade, triggered in March by the jailing of its presidential candidate, Istanbul mayor Ekrem Imamoglu.

At least 50,000 people took part in a rally in the capital Ankara on Sunday, where CHP leader Ozgur Ozel called on crowds to take a "stand" against the legal onslaught.

"This case is political, the allegations are slander," he said. "This is a coup (and) we will resist."

"We are facing the grave consequences of Turkey's government abandoning the 'democracy train' and choosing to govern through oppression rather than the ballot box," Ozel added.

"Unfortunately, anyone who poses a democratic threat to the government is now the government's target."

The case seeks to overturn the result of a CHP congress in November 2023 on grounds of vote rigging. The congress ousted longtime party chairman Kemal Kilicdaroglu and elected Ozel.

The indictment names Kilicdaroglu as the injured party and seeks jail terms of up to three years for Imamoglu and 10 other CHP mayors and officials for "vote-rigging".

If successful, the case could topple Ozel as leader.

Ozel and eight other lawmakers are also being investigated on similar charges, but their case is being handled by a parliamentary unit as they all have immunity.

On September 2, a court ousted the leadership of the CHP's Istanbul branch over allegations of vote-buying at its provincial congress, appointing a trustee to take over in a move widely seen as a test run for Monday's case.

The ruling sparked angry protests and prompted the stock market to tumble 5.5 percent, raising fears that Monday's outcome could also hurt Turkey's fragile economy.

- Unpopular leader to return? -

If the Ankara court annuls the results of the CHP congress, it could herald the return of former leader Kilicdaroglu, who chalked up a string of electoral defeats that left the party in crisis.

Such a ruling would likely trigger a major internal conflict at CHP's Ankara headquarters, experts say.

In a move to safeguard the leadership, CHP has convened an extraordinary congress on September 21, meaning if the court removes Ozel and reinstates Kilicdaroglu, members could simply vote Ozel back in six days later.

Istanbul's jailed mayor denounced Monday's hearing as an assault on democracy.

"This isn't about the CHP, it's about the existence or absence of democracy in Turkey," Imamoglu told reporters on Friday after appearing in court on unrelated charges.

When Ozel took over in November 2023, the CHP was in crisis, but by March 2024, he had led the party to a resounding local election victory.

Ozel became the face of the massive street protests that erupted after Imamoglu's arrest and he has since led weekly protests around Turkey that have drawn huge crowds, infuriating Erdogan.

Monday's hearing begins at 10:00 am (0700 GMT) at the 42nd Civil Court of First Instance in the Turkish capital.

V.AbuAwwad--SF-PST