AKP takes another Istanbul district as three CHP councillors defect

Three CHP-elected council members in Istanbul's Adalar district crossed over to elect AKP candidate Kemal Türkyılmaz acting mayor on 23 September, after the district's CHP mayor was arrested on corruption charges in June and his health-citing replacement resigned in September. CHP's Istanbul provincial chief, Özgür Çelik, alleged the government pressured the defectors, saying one had restrictions lifted in exchange for the vote and another was threatened with a shop demolition and arrest; the government says the courts are independent. It is the latest of several CHP-run municipalities AKP has taken since Istanbul mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu's arrest in March 2025.

← See the full edition