Izmir's independent mayor reportedly set to join AK Party on October 7

Media reports say Cemil Tugay, mayor of Izmir, Türkiye's third-largest city, who quit the CHP in June over a court-ordered leadership change, will join the ruling AK Party, with President Erdoğan expected to welcome him at the party's parliamentary group meeting on October 7. The report follows Tugay's September 30 meeting with Erdoğan, and the move would give AK Party a foothold, by defection rather than election, in a city that has been a CHP stronghold for decades. Neither Tugay nor AK Party has confirmed it.

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