Squid News

The mayor of Izmir, Turkey’s third city and an opposition stronghold, on Wednesday defected to the ruling AKP, in a huge symbolic victory for Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Mayor Cemil Tugay’s decision to join the Islamic-rooted Justice and Development Party (AKP) was announced by Erdogan at a parliamentary group meeting in Ankara where he personally welcomed the mayor in a party-like atmosphere broadcast live on TV.”Dear AKP family, I salute all of you on this precious day..

We’re setting out to get Izmir back on its feet,” said Tugay after Erdogan pinned a party badge onto his lapel. The scene sparked anger and disgust on the streets of Izmir, a secular resort city of 4.5 million residents on Turkey’s Aegean coast. “If I were his mother, I wouldn’t be able to show my face in public. His wife should divorce him. A person needs to have a backbone!” 52-year-old Kadir Ozturk told AFP in Izmir, reflecting the mayor’s vow earlier this year that he’d never switch or his mum would disown him and his wife leave him.  – Crackdown on opposition – Taking control of the mayorship of Izmir, which has been governed by opposition social democrats since 1999, is a major coup for Erdogan. But although it helps AKP expand its influence in Izmir, it does not mean the party has a majority on the city’s metropolitan municipal council, which remains dominated by the opposition.

The defection comes as Turkey’s opposition battles an increasingly intense crackdown, with a barrage of what critics say are politically motivated arrests and lawsuits targeting its mayors and elected officials. The crackdown followed the resounding victory of CHP, which at the time was the main opposition force, in the March 2024 local elections, trouncing AKP in a major blow for Erdogan. Since then, however, CHP has faced a growing intimidation campaign.

Six of its provincial mayors have been arrested, including Istanbul mayor Ekrem Imamoglu, and 29 of its district mayors, 13 in Istanbul, according to figures published Wednesday by the independent Diken news website. Alongside the lawsuits, there has been a growing number of defections to AKP. At least 17 opposition mayors have switched to AKP, Medyascope news website said last week ahead of Tugay’s defection. – ‘Switching out of fear’ – Political analyst Berk Esen said Tugay’s defection was a “signficant development” in a city that has been the oppositions biggest stronghold for nearly three decades. “This is a continuation of AKP’s strategy to reverse its major defeat in the 2024 local elections through force and repression,” he told AFP.

Opposition mayors were not changing ranks because they had changed their ideology or been successfully won over by the ruling party, many were doing it “out of fear,” he said.”We’ve had tens of opposition mayors arrested, many others threatened. Some are facing threat of prosecution, so against the backdrop of increasing judicial repression, going back nearly two years, some opposition mayors have decided to change ranks.”And Cemil Tugay is a clear example of that.”Tugay took office as mayor in April 2024 just after CHP’s local election victory, but in June this year, he resigned from the party after its leadership was replaced in a controversial court ruling. Forced out of the party he had led for two-and-a-half years, Ozgur Ozel went on to found Yeni Parti, taking 90 lawmakers with him and replacing CHP as Turkey’s main opposition. But when Tugay left, he didn’t follow Ozel, saying he would remain independent, sparking rumours he was planning to defect to AKP. “We love Izmir.

May it benefit everyone,” Tugay said as he walked into AKP’s headquarters where a huge crowd was raucously chanting, clapping and cheering: “Izmir is proud of you!” Speaking on Tuesday, Ozel spoke of the campaign of pressure, threats and blackmail faced by Izmir’s elected officials.”Those who do not bow to this pressure… will remain our brothers until the day they die.

But those who sell out and leave are traitors,” he said. Within the Izmir municipal council, which counts 184 members, Yeni is the largest grouping with 91 seats, followed by AKP with 38 and CHP with 35. Tugay’s defection now raises AKP to 39 seats.

Wed, 07 Oct 2026 12:07:43 GMT