Nine opposition politicians, including six mayors from Turkey’s main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP), have joined President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), a move the CHP says was driven by threats, intimidation and political pressure amid an ongoing crackdown on the party.
The most prominent defector is Özlem Çerçioğlu, mayor of the western city of Aydın, who had led the municipality under the CHP banner since 2009 and once criticized politicians who switch parties after being elected. She joined the AKP on Thursday along with eight other district mayors at a high-profile ceremony marking the party’s 24th anniversary.
The other new AKP members include Aydın district mayors Mustafa İberya Arıkan (Söke), Osman Yıldırımkaya (Sultanhisar) and Malik Ercan (Yenipazar); Gaziantep’s Şehitkamil Mayor Umut Yılmaz; Yalova’s Altınova Mayor Yasemin Fazlaca; Kastamonu’s Bozkurt Mayor Muammer Yanık; Isparta’s Yalvaç Mayor Mustafa Kodal; and Aksaray’s Yeşiltepe Mayor İsmail Akpınar. Two of the mayors were from the opposition İYİ (Good) Party, while one was an independent.
Speculation, resignation and defection
Rumors of Çerçioğlu’s departure surfaced Wednesday after Turkish media reported she would quit the CHP. That same day, Erdoğan hinted that new members would join his party. On Thursday she confirmed her resignation on X, saying repeated attempts to resolve disputes within the CHP had failed and accused the party of “anti-democratic practices.” She did not elaborate on those claims.
“Due to anti-democratic practices and my own principles, honesty, service within the framework of the law and public morality, it is no longer possible for me to walk the same path with the CHP,” she wrote.
She addressed the AKP meeting following Erdoğan on Thursday, promising to “serve Aydın even more” under Erdoğan’s leadership and denying claims that she has fears about being prosecuted.
“I have never been afraid of the judiciary or of being tried. I do not find it appropriate to detail the problems I experienced here for reasons of political ethics, but I can explain them one by one if necessary,” she said.
🔴 Özlem Çerçioğlu'na AKP rozetinin takıldığı anlar… https://t.co/s6FNoja1Ow pic.twitter.com/pFJcj90D0S
— Halk TV (@halktvcomtr) August 14, 2025
Çerçioğlu was also a former member of parliament from the CHP. She was among the CHP’s most successful mayors. She was last elected mayor of Aydın in 2024, receiving 50.5 percent of the vote. She was also Aydın’s first female mayor.
Claims of political pressure
The CHP has accused the AKP of using threats and coercion to lure opposition figures to its side, particularly amid an ongoing government crackdown on the party.
The party has been under a harsh crackdown for about a year that has so far led to the arrest of 17 CHP mayors and dozens of party officials including İstanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu, the most powerful political rival of President Erdoğan and his party’s presidential candidate for the next election slated for 2028.
İmamoğlu was arrested in March on corruption charges widely criticized as politically motivated. His arrest sparked Turkey’s worst protests since 2013.
Since January, hundreds of people have been detained and dozens arrested in police operations targeting CHP-run municipalities across Turkey. One of the investigations is tied to businessman Aziz İhsan Aktaş, who prosecutors say led a criminal organization.
Aktaş was initially jailed but later released under a plea deal, and his testimony reportedly fueled new waves of raids on opposition-run local governments.
CHP leader Özgür Özel claimed that Çerçioğlu was pressured to join the AKP under threat of being implicated in the Aktaş case. “They tell her, ‘You worked with Aziz İhsan Aktaş. Either you go to prison or you join my party.’ That’s all there is to it,” Özel said.
The CHP argues that the probe is politically motivated, noting that Aktaş-linked companies have received lucrative contracts from AKP-run municipalities and state institutions, yet only CHP-run cities have faced sweeping investigations.
Özel also accused Çerçioğlu of “stealing” the votes entrusted to her by the people of Aydın with her decision to join the AKP.
Protest with high heels
On Thursday Barış Emici, a member of the CHP’s youth branch in Aydın’s Efeler district, left a pair of high heels outside city hall in protest of Çerçioğlu’s defection.
Known locally as “Topuklu Efe” (High-Heeled Efe), Çerçioğlu got her nickname from the “efe,” a traditional folk leader in western Anatolia celebrated for bravery, honor and defending the local community.
Emici wrote the names of other defectors on the shoes and accused Çerçioğlu of betraying voters and pressuring others to resign through “mobbing and threats.”
In a social media post, he vowed: “We will take back Aydın and make it unlivable for you. And don’t throw the boxes away. You can put money in them,” referencing shoeboxes of cash found in a state bank executive’s home during a 2013 corruption scandal implicating Erdoğan’s close circle.