A Turkish court on Friday dismissed a case challenging the legitimacy of the Republican People’s Party’s (CHP) 2023 internal congress, ruling there was no legal basis to overturn the party’s leadership.

The lawsuit sought to annul the CHP’s 38th congress held in November 2023, where longtime leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu was ousted, over allegations of electoral fraud, including vote-buying and procedural violations.

Had the case succeeded, current chairman Ozgur Ozel could have been removed and replaced by Kilicdaroglu or a court-appointed “trustee chairman.”

The CHP dismissed the fraud allegations as politically driven, saying the vote followed proper procedures. Party officials have accused President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s government of using the judiciary to pressure the opposition.

The dispute comes amid what CHP supporters describe as a broader crackdown on the party after it made major gains in last year’s local elections. Several officials from CHP-run municipalities have been arrested in recent months.

Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu, a prominent Erdogan rival who is being held on corruption charges he denies, has been a key target. On Friday, prosecutors launched a new investigation into Imamoglu over potential espionage charges, the state-run Anadolu Agency reported.

Imamoglu’s former campaign manager, Necati Ozkan, and journalist Merdan Yanardag, detained on Friday, are also under investigation. Authorities cited alleged links to a businessman arrested in July on accusations of spying for foreign states.

Imamoglu’s arrest in March triggered widespread protests, as he is widely viewed as a strong future challenger to Erdogan. The government says the judiciary is independent and that ongoing investigations are focused solely on corruption.