31 legal experts: Is the injunction a barrier to CHP convention?

A group of 31 legal experts, including prominent constitutional and public law professors in Turkey, has released a joint statement addressing the controversy surrounding the Republican People's Party's (CHP) convention. The statement focuses on whether a preliminary injunction halting the convention's cancellation poses an obstacle to holding the assembly.

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No court decision can override or suspend the mandatory provisions of the law.

The experts emphasize that this issue transcends internal party politics, framing it as a significant matter of democracy for Turkey. They reference articles of the Turkish Constitution (68 and 69) that underscore the essential role of political parties in democratic life and mandate that their internal regulations align with democratic principles, as governed by law.

Furthermore, the statement recalls provisions within the Law on Political Parties. Specifically, Article 14 stipulates that the party's general congress must convene within two to three years, while Article 36 outlines sanctions for parties failing to hold their district, provincial, or general congresses twice consecutively, potentially leading to a loss of eligibility to participate in elections.

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Consequently, taking the party to an extraordinary congress with delegates whose will is considered intact is not only legally mandatory but also the only legitimate way out that will end the current legal chaos.

The legal scholars assert that no court decision can override these mandatory legal provisions. They argue that the injunction, by reverting the situation to pre-convention circumstances, has effectively transferred the authority to convene a legally mandated ordinary congress to the former party leader, Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, and the then-Party Council and Central Executive Board. The experts conclude that reconvening an extraordinary congress with the delegates is not only legally necessary but also the sole legitimate way to resolve the current legal chaos and prevent further "democratic blemishes" on Turkey's history.

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We invite everyone responsible to do their part so that a new democratic blemish, which will go down in Turkey's history as a black stain, is not caused.