Turkey has opened a new criminal investigation into the leader of the main opposition party, while a prominent opposition mayor is reported to be preparing to defect to President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s ruling AKP, allegedly under duress.
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| Turkey’s opposition leader faces fresh criminal investigation. Turkey’s opposition leader faces fresh criminal investigation. Turkey’s opposition leader faces fresh criminal investigation. |
Justice Minister Yılmaz Tunç said on the social media platform X that Özgür Özel, head of the Republican People’s Party (CHP), was under investigation for remarks he made about Erdoğan, concerning the defection of Aydın Mayor Özlem Çerçioğlu from CHP to AKP. Çerçioğlu announced her resignation today (August 14) but has yet to announce she is switching parties.
Calling Özel’s comments “an open attack on the will representing 86 million citizens,” Tunç accused him of using language that “goes beyond decency and political courtesy,” adding: “The nation will never give way to those engaged in slander and defamation politics.”
The minister did not specify the exact remarks under investigation, but they were made during a press appearance in Aydın — a CHP stronghold in western Turkey — following Özel’s meeting with Istanbul’s opposition mayor, Ekrem İmamoğlu.
Özel had accused Erdoğan of trying to force CHP mayors to defect to AKP by leveraging corruption investigations against them. Referring to alleged behind-the-scenes pressure on Özlem Çerçioğlu, the long-serving CHP mayor of Aydın, he said:
“Man, you were kicked out of Aydın with a thump and a kick! If saying ‘Either be jailed or join my party’ is how you win a city, what kind of honour is that?”
The comment, implying that the president personally uses judicial pressure to force defections, is likely to form the basis of the “insulting the president” allegation. No comment was given by Özel or his office regarding this particular part of his remarks.
Defection and political fallout
Çerçioğlu, a prominent figure in local politics, is widely reported to be preparing to join the AK Party today (14 August). Moments ago as of the writing of this article, Çerçioğlu announced her resignation from CHP. Several Turkish media outlets — citing party sources — have said Erdoğan himself will pin the AKP badge on her at an official ceremony.
CHP MP Süleyman Bülbül had publicly confirmed the defection claims, naming the mayors of Sultanhisar, Söke and Yenipazar districts in Aydın as also preparing to switch parties. However, the AK Party’s Aydın provincial office denied that Çerçioğlu will defect, saying only that Sultanhisar’s mayor and several municipal councillors are due to join.
Aydın has long been a CHP stronghold, representing the party’s secular, voter base in the Aegean and Mediterranean regions. Losing control of its metropolitan municipality would mark a major setback for the CHP and a rare political gain for the AKP, which has historically struggled to expand in this part of the country.
Medyascope'u destekle. Medyascope'a abone ol.
Medyascope’u senin desteğin ayakta tutuyor. Hiçbir patronun, siyasi çıkarın güdümünde değiliz; hangi haberi yapacağımıza biz karar veriyoruz. Tıklanma uğruna değil, kamu yararına çalışıyoruz. Bağımsız gazeteciliğin sürmesi, sitenin açık kalması ve herkesin doğru bilgiye erişebilmesi senin desteğinle mümkün.
Pressure claims and corruption probes
The potential defection comes against a backdrop of mounting legal pressure on opposition-run municipalities. In recent years, Turkish prosecutors have launched numerous corruption investigations into CHP mayors — cases the opposition says are politically motivated.
Local media have linked Çerçioğlu’s reported decision to join the AKP to ongoing probes into her municipality’s procurement dealings with companies linked to businessman Aziz İhsan Aktaş. His firms were awarded multiple contracts by Aydın Metropolitan Municipality in 2015–2017, which later became the subject of official investigations for corruption.
Journalists İsmail Saymaz and Barış Pehlivan have also reported claims that senior officials at Aydın Metropolitan Municipality told employees to resign their CHP memberships, sharing screenshots of alleged WhatsApp messages reading: “Friends, please resign from CHP membership. Send me the screenshot. This is the mayor’s instruction.”
The CHP leadership has sent its deputy chair for local governments, Gökan Zeybek, to Aydın to “manage the process.” Speaking to journalist Pehlivan, Zeybek described the situation as “troubling” but insisted Çerçioğlu’s party membership “still continues for now.”
Part of a broader pattern
The row is the latest in a series of high-profile confrontations between Turkey’s ruling party and the opposition since Erdoğan’s local election upset in 2024. Over the past year, multiple CHP mayors have faced criminal probes, while opposition lawmakers and journalists have been detained or prosecuted on charges ranging from corruption to “insulting the president.” Critics — including rights groups such as Human Rights Watch and the Council of Europe’s Venice Commission — have accused the Turkish government of using the judiciary to weaken political rivals ahead of elections. Erdoğan and his ministers reject the allegations, insisting that all cases are based on evidence and conducted within the rule of law.
‘Insulting the president’ in Turkey
Under Article 299 of Turkey’s penal code, “insulting the president” is a criminal offence punishable by up to four years in prison, with longer sentences possible in certain circumstances. The law has been frequently used since Erdoğan assumed the presidency in 2014, with thousands of cases brought against journalists, politicians and ordinary citizens for comments deemed offensive. Özel, however, remains a sitting MP and enjoys parliamentary immunity under Article 83 of the Turkish Constitution, which generally shields members from criminal prosecution, including charges of “insulting the president.”
