Cemil Tugay, the mayor of Izmir, has joined President Tayyip Erdogan's AK Party, marking a significant shift for the opposition-led city.
Key facts
- •Cemil Tugay won the March 2024 mayoral election in Izmir with 49% of the vote.
- •The AKP has never won the Izmir metropolitan municipality in a general election.
- •Tugay resigned from the CHP in June following a court ruling regarding the party's 2023 congress.
- •Dozens of opposition mayors are currently in jail facing corruption probes.
- •CHP leader Ozgur Ozel publicly accused the AKP of using pressure tactics to secure Tugay's defection.
Cemil Tugay, the mayor of Turkey's third-largest city, Izmir, officially joined President Tayyip Erdogan’s ruling AK Party (AKP) on Wednesday. The move grants the AKP control over the municipality, a long-standing stronghold for the secular opposition that the party has never won through elections. Tugay, who was elected as a member of the Republican People’s Party (CHP) in March 2024, had been serving as an independent mayor since resigning from his party in June.
By the numbers
Political Context and Defection
Tugay’s transition to the AKP follows his resignation from the CHP in June, which occurred after a court ruling annulled the party's 2023 congress and stripped Ozgur Ozel of his chairmanship. While Ozel and 90 opposition MPs formed a new party in protest, Tugay remained an independent mayor until his recent move to the AKP. Tugay stated that he expects the alignment between local and central government to facilitate future achievements.
Opposition Allegations and Legal Climate
The defection occurs amid an ongoing government crackdown on opposition-led municipalities, which has seen numerous mayors, including former Izmir mayor Tunc Soyer and Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu, jailed pending trial on corruption charges. The opposition maintains these investigations are politically motivated, while the government asserts that the judiciary remains independent. CHP leader Ozgur Ozel accused the AKP of utilizing blackmail and threats of imprisonment to coerce Tugay into defecting.
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This article was independently rewritten by ManyPress editorial AI from reporting originally published by Cyprus Mail, Al-Monitor, Straits Times World.
