Turkish markets, lira gain as Ankara delays ruling on opposition head's ouster
An Ankara court adjourned a case to October 24 to ouster the opposition CHP party's chairman, as part of a long-running political crackdown by the ruling AKP party.
Turkish bonds, stocks and currency strengthened on Monday after the government delayed a court ruling on whether to oust Ozgur Ozel, the leader of the main opposition party.
What happened: On Monday, an Ankara court adjourned to Oct. 24 the case to determine whether to annul the 2023 congress of the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) over alleged voting irregularities and remove its chairman, Ozel, as part of a long-running political crackdown by the ruling AKP party. The CHP denies the charges, saying they are politically motivated and are aimed at weakening the party, which won more than 37% of the vote in last year’s local elections, becoming the country’s most popular party.
Turkey’s Borsa Istanbul index rose 4.92% as of Monday 8:30 a.m. EST after closing down 0.10% on Friday.
The lira has lost more than 11% of its value since March, when the government intensified its crackdown against the CHP. But on Monday, the lira firmed slightly to 41.29 against the dollar at 8:30 a.m. EST, compared to Friday’s close of 41.37.
