Canan Kaftancıoğlu

The race for the Istanbul provincial chair in the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) has emerged as a critical test for the party's leadership aspirations, with the city's current head, Canan Kaftancıoğlu, ineligible to run again due to a political ban.

Main opposition Republican People's Party CHP Istanbul Provincial Chairperson Canan Kaftancioglu (C) speaks to her supporters in Istanbul, 6 September, 2019. Photo: EPA-EFE/SERPIL GEDIK

An appeal court has revoked the membership of Canan Kaftancıoğlu in the Republican People's Party (CHP) in line with a political ban imposed on her after she was convicted of terror propaganda and of insulting President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.

People walking in Istiklal Street in Istanbul, Turkey, 2 December 2021. Photo: EPA-EFE/SEDAT SUNA

A CHP branch with a poster asking: "Where are 128 billion dollars?" Photo: CHP Silivri Branch

The CHP has been organising a campaign about the fate the Turkish Central Bank reserves on social media and later put up the banners on its buildings and billboards.

A prominent Turkish opposition official was sentenced by a court on Friday to nine years and eight months in prison for insulting the president and spreading terrorist propaganda, a lawmaker from the main opposition party said.

CHP's Istanbul provincial head Canan Kaftancıoğlu

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has slammed main opposition Republican People’s Party’s (CHP) newly elected Istanbul province chair Canan Kaftancıoğlu over her previous Twitter posts, stating that the posts amount to “enmity of the nation.”