Opposition leader claims İzmir mayor joined Erdoğan’s party under jail threat

New (Yeni) Party leader Özgür Özel has claimed that the mayor of İzmir, an opposition stronghold, joined President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s party under the threat of imprisonment.

İzmir Mayor Cemil Tugay joined the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) yesterday at a ceremony attended by Erdoğan, reversing his earlier stance that there was “not a one-in-a-million chance” he would join the party.

The switch carries symbolic significance because İzmir has long been regarded as a secular stronghold during the Erdoğan era. The AKP has never finished first in a local or general election in İzmir since coming to power in 2002.

Tugay’s decision was met with protests in İzmir, with crowds chanting “traitor Cemil” in multiple locations.

The move comes amid a sweeping crackdown on opposition-controlled municipalities that has seen more than 40 opposition mayors removed from office, including 35 who were jailed.

While the opposition has retained control of most of these municipalities, more than a dozen have come under AKP control. Some mayors have left the Republican People’s Party (CHP) to join the AKP, while some municipalities have changed hands following shifts in the balance of power in municipal councils. These councils elect acting mayors when elected mayors are suspended.

The suspended mayors include those of the major cities of İstanbul, Antalya, Mersin, Adana and Bursa.

According to Özel, Tugay could have been among those jailed had he not joined the AKP.

Özel, who founded the New Party in July after being removed as CHP leader by a court order, claimed that Tugay was a suspect in two separate corruption investigations.

One concerns alleged irregularities at an İzmir Metropolitan Municipality subsidiary involved in urban renewal projects. Municipal officials are accused of obtaining personal benefits through a construction cooperative. Several people have already been detained as part of the probe.

The second investigation concerns Tugay’s tenure as mayor of İzmir’s Karşıyaka district, Özel told Nefes newspaper today.

“[Tugay] gave in to threats and blackmail. He said ‘yes’ to the offer, but İzmir will not bow to threats,” Özel asserted.

He also claimed that Tugay would hold only a symbolic role from now on. “They will appoint a powerful secretary-general to the municipality, and [Tugay] will be nothing more than a puppet,” he asserted. “As I see it, Cemil is a traitor to us and a puppet to them.”

Opposition in disarray

Following its establishment, the New Party succeeded in attracting most CHP deputies, with 91 former CHP deputies joining the New Party and only 35 remaining with the CHP.

At the local level, however, the New Party has struggled to win over CHP mayors and municipal council members, most of whom have remained with the CHP.

The developments have left the opposition in disarray following a successful local election campaign in 2024 that was oncethey saw as a springboard for victory in the next general election. The party has since split, many of its mayors have been jailed, and the opposition has lost control of several municipalities.

(VK)