By Daren Butler
FILE PHOTO: Turkey's main opposition Republican People's Party leader Ozgur Ozel addresses the media in Ankara
ISTANBUL, May 23 (Reuters) - Turkish police detained 13 people under an investigation into a 2023 congress of the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP), state media said on Saturday, after a court ruling this week ousted the party's leader Ozgur Ozel, inflaming a political crisis.
A Turkish appeals court on Thursday annulled the congress, at which Ozel was elected, citing unspecified irregularities. In his place, the court reinstated former CHP Chairman Kemal Kilicdaroglu, a divisive figure who lost to President Tayyip Erdogan in elections earlier that year.
Speaking to reporters on Saturday, Kilicdaroglu called on CHP members to avoid internal divisions and said the party must protect its "moral values" in the face of criticism.
"During this process, it is crucial to carefully avoid talk that could divide the party's grassroots," he said, adding that he had not yet spoken with Ozel.
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The ousted CHP leadership under Ozel had condemned the court ruling as a "judicial coup" and Ozel promised to fight it through legal appeals and to personally remain "day and night" in the CHP's Ankara headquarters.
The Istanbul chief public prosecutor’s office said the 13 suspects were detained across seven provinces over allegations of interference in delegates’ voting during the 2023 congress, state-owned Anadolu news agency reported on Saturday.
They face charges of "violating the law on political parties", "accepting bribes", and "laundering assets derived from crime", the statement said. Search and seizure operations were carried out at the suspects’ addresses in the provinces of Istanbul, Ankara, Izmir, Sanliurfa, Kahramanmaras, Kilis and Malatya.
Analysts said this week's court ruling, seen as a test of Turkey's shaky balance between democracy and autocracy, could prolong Erdogan's 23-year rule even as the country risks another setback in its long battle against soaring inflation.
The next national election is set for 2028, but would need to be brought forward if Erdogan, 72, and facing a term limit, wants to run again. The court ruling was seen as raising the chances of an early vote. The government denies criticism that it uses courts to target political rivals, saying the judiciary is independent.
(Reporting by Daren Butler; Editing by Tomasz Janowski and Susan Fenton)