President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan announced that nine mayors, including Aydın Metropolitan Mayor Özlem Çerçioğlu, have joined his ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP). The announcement came during a ceremony marking the party’s 24th anniversary.
Alongside Çerçioğlu, three district mayors from Aydın also switched from the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) to the AKP. Five other district mayors from various provinces, including two Good (İYİ) Party members and an independent mayor, also joined the AKP at the ceremony.
Addressing the ceremony, Erdoğan welcomed the newcomers, saying, “We say welcome to all our friends who have joined us to support our struggle for the Century of Turkey.”
Blackmail allegations
He criticized those who opposed the mayors’ move, saying, “Since yesterday, people with an immoral, dishonorable, and coarse tone have been attacking the new members of the AK Party family."
Erdoğan also targeted CHP leader Özgür Özel directly, saying, “The gentleman is disturbed. Well, we will disturb him more. While he flounders in the mud up to his neck, we will focus on our work.”
Özel claimed yesterday that Çerçioğlu joined the AKP under threat. “Clearly they told her, ‘Either join my party or go to jail," he told reporters after news of her possible defect appeared in the media.
According to Özel, Çerçioğlu was threatened with inclusion in the he sweeping corruption investigation into the CHP-controlled İstanbul Metropolitan Municipality over her previous business relations with Aziz İhsan Aktaş, now in detention as part of the investigation.
Journalist Fatih Altaylı, who has been pre-trial detention since Jun 23, said through a letter about his recent meeting with Özel that Çerçioğlu agreed to join the AKP after being promised that her husband’s company, Jantsa, would be spared legal action. Several case files linked to businessperson Aktaş had been held over her for years.
Since early this year, the CHP has faced multiple corruption investigations that have led to the suspension of 15 mayors, including İstanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu.
Fifteen CHP mayors suspended from office in corruption probes
Following Erdoğan, Çerçioğlu addressed the ceremony, pledging to continue her work under the president’s leadership.
Referring to allegations against her, she said, “I have not feared prosecution. My conscience is clear, my head is held high. I do not find it politically ethical to share here the problems I have faced [at the CHP], but I will explain them one by one if necessary. My only concern is to serve my country and Aydın.”
In the 2024 municipal elections, Çerçioğlu won the Aydın mayoral race with 50.52 percent of the vote, ahead of the AKP candidate’s 36.72 percent. (VK)
