CHP draws ire for nominating controversial figure tied to pro-AKP businessman in İzmir

 The main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) has attracted criticism from within the party and outside of it due to its nomination of a figure with links to one of the five pro-government businessmen known as the “gang of five” to run in the upcoming local elections as the mayoral candidate in İzmir.

The party announced on Monday that it is nominating Karşıyaka district mayor Cemil Tugay as its mayoral candidate for the İzmir Metropolitan Municipality in the March 31 local elections. İzmir is known as a stronghold of the CHP.

İzmir’s current mayor, Tunç Soyer, who is known to be close to former CHP leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, has not been renominated.

The controversy surrounding the CHP’s nomination of Tugay, whose links to Cengiz Holding Chairman Mehmet Cengiz had made the news, for İzmir mayor has once again highlighted the internal divisions within the party, Turkish media reports said.

Limak Holding CEO Nihat Özdemir, MNG Holding Chairman Mehmet Nazif Günal, Kolin Construction CEO Naci Koloğlu, Kalyon Construction Chair Cemal Kalyoncu and Cengiz are referred to by the opposition parties as the “gang of five” for having won nearly all the large tenders during President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s time in office.

Tugay announced his candidacy on X on Monday posting a photo of himself with CHP leader Özgür Özel.

Değerli İzmirliler,

Gözbebeğimiz İzmir’in daha parlak bir geleceğe sahip olması için yola çıkıyoruz. Bugün buradan tüm İzmirlilere, İzmir’de yaşayan herkes için, hiç durmadan çalışacağımızın sözünü vermek istiyorum. Sorunlara kalıcı çözümler üretecek, İzmir’i geleceğe taşıyacak… pic.twitter.com/jP5Ld1cW4O

— Dr. Cemil Tugay (@drcemiltugay) January 29, 2024

After Tugay was nominated as the mayoral candidate, former CHP deputy chairman Eren Erdem shared documents in a series of posts on X to prove his links to Cengiz Holding, accusing the candidate of selling municipal land for TL 12 million below its value in 2020 to the holding and approving illegal construction in the district.

1-) “KOL KIRILIR YEN İÇİNDE KALIR. Ama o kol Mehmet Cengiz’in koluysa; yen içinde falan kalmaz!”
Geçtiğimiz günlerde, İzmir Büyükşehir Belediyesine yönelik olarak; Cemil Tugay’ın “önseçim, temayül, anket yahut örgüt referansı” olmaksızın dayatılması karşısında tepki göstermiş,…

— Eren Erdem (@erenerdemnet) January 29, 2024

“Assigning undeserving individuals to such positions will be detrimental to our party,” Erdem said.

The CHP’s current İzmir Mayor Soyer was also unsettled by the party’s decision to nominate Tugay. He described the party’s decision to inform him of its decision just five minutes before the party’s Central Executive Board (MYK) meeting as a “political discourtesy.”

“However, I believe the more alarming issue than this discourtesy lies in the deficiencies and mistakes in the candidate selection process of the CHP. … The fact that only political rewards and punishments have been pursued is concerning,” he added.

Sevgili İzmirliler,

Önce Seferihisar’da sonra da İzmir’de canla başla çalıştım, bu süre içinde Türkiye’ye örnek olacak birçok uygulamayı başlattım. Cumhuriyet Halk Partililerin gurur duyacakları, saygıyla anılacak, temiz ve başarılı işler yapmaya gayret ettim. Koltuk sevdası…

— Tunç Soyer (@tuncsoyer) January 30, 2024

Meanwhile, Tugay responded to journalist İsmail Saymaz’s questions regarding the allegations against him, saying that he had to sell the land to Cengiz Holding through negotiations to cover the municipality’s debts. Tugay said that he was inexperienced as a mayor at the time and consulted on the issue with former CHP leader Kılıçdaroğlu and Soyer.

The companies that comprise the gang of five are among the world’s top 10 private sponsors of public infrastructure projects by investment and region and by investment and primary sector for the years 1990 to 2020, according to World Bank data. The opposition parties accuse them of rigging tenders and claim they are Turkey’s biggest tax evaders.