In Turkey’s political landscape, the limited range of choices presented to voters often leads to shifts at the grassroots level. Also, political figures frequently switch sides even when they lack support among the electorate. Far from gaining approval, these moves often provoke public backlash. Voters rightly argue that their allegiance is to a party, not to individual politicians, and they view these “transfers” as a misrepresentation of their will.
Throughout the history of the republic, party changes have occurred for various reasons, ranging from political “transfers” and “breakaways” to “tactical shifts.” In some cases, politicians elected through alliances have later returned to their original parties.
Following Turkey’s transition from a single-party system to a multi-party democracy, these dynamics became more pronounced. On Jan 7, 1946, Celâl Bayar, Adnan Menderes, Fuat Köprülü, and Refik Koraltan, who had opposed the Republican People's Party (CHP) leadership with the “Motion of Four," (Dörtlü Takrir) broke away and founded the Democratic Party (DP). This date is widely regarded as a turning point in the country’s shift to a multi-party system.
Subsequent splinters from the CHP led to the founding of the Republican Reliance Party (CGP) by Turhan Feyzioğlu in 1967. In 1970, a group of 41 deputies, including Ferruh Bozbeyli who had split from the Justice Party, established the Democratic Party.
Although inter-party divisions were not uncommon, one of the most striking events in Turkey's political history in terms of politician transfers occurred between 1977 and 1978. Known publicly as the “Güneş Motel incident,” 11 MPs from the Justice Party defected to the CHP, paving the way for Bülent Ecevit to form a government. The episode became a milestone in the public perception of political bargaining among MPs.
During the military junta period following the 1980 coup, a growing influence of the Turkish-Islamic synthesis among Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) members triggered an internal division in 1993. This culminated in a significant break when Muhsin Yazıcıoğlu left the MHP to form the Great Unity Party (BBP).
The Democratic Party, often cited by right-wing parties as their ideological predecessor, returned to political relevance long after the 1980 coup, when one of its major succesors, the True Path Party (DYP), changes its name in 2007. However, it faded back into obscurity after its leader Süleyman Soylu, who had strongly criticized then-prime minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, joined the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) in 2012. He served as a minister from 2015 to 2023.
Numan Kurtulmuş, a leading figure from the National Vision movement—which Erdoğan was also part of before leaving to form the AKP in 2002—and founder of the People’s Voice Party (HAS Party), joined the AKP in 2012 after the two parties merged. He went on to serve as deputy prime minister and vice chair of the party. Kurtulmuş now continues his political career as the speaker of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey. He also chairs the National Solidarity, Fraternity and Democracy Commission, which oversees the peace process with the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK).
Recent years have seen the emergence of key political figures through party changes. Ahmet Davutoğlu, who resigned from the AKP and established the Future Party on Sep 13, 2019; Ali Babacan, who founded the DEVA Party on Mar 9, 2020; and Mehmet Ali Çelebi, who left the CHP for the Homeland Party before eventually joining the AKP, have all played significant roles.
Aside from party leaders, another prominent figure is Mansur Yavaş, who switched from the MHP to the CHP and went on to help the main opposition secure consecutive electoral victories.
When it comes to party-switching in Turkish politics, perhaps no figure is more emblematic than Kubilay Uygun. Nicknamed “Whirligig Kubi,” (Fırıldak Kubi) Uygun became known for his rapid and frequent transitions in parliament. In July 1996 alone, he changed parties three times: from the Democratic Left Party (DSP) to the True Path Party (DYP) on Jul 4, back to the DSP between Jul 6 and 8, and once again to the DYP on Jul 30. He later joined the MHP from the DYP on Jun 27, 1997, but left less than a month later on Jul 18. He went on to join the Democratic Turkey Party (DTP) on Dec 28, 1997, only to resign on Jun 10, 1998. Before becoming a parliamentarian, he had been active in local politics with both the CHP and Motherland Party (ANAP).
In more recent memory, one of the most dramatic shifts came from Savcı Sayan. He famously sobbed during a press conference following the resignation of CHP leader Deniz Baykal, only to later join the AKP.
In recent days, a new wave of transitions has begun—this time at the municipal level. Particularly in municipalities facing corruption probes led by the police, a trend of defections from the CHP to the AKP has emerged. In one such case, the administration of Beykoz Municipality shifted from CHP to AKP control. A similar development may unfold in Bayrampaşa Municipality, where four CHP council members have resigned and the current CHP mayor is under police custody.
Those elected from the opposition Nation Alliance who switched to the ruling People’s Alliance
Mayors (after Mar 31, 2024 – selected examples)
- Özlem Çerçioğlu — Aydın Metropolitan Municipality (CHP → AKP), Aug 14, 2025Mustafa İberya Arıkan — Söke, Aydın (CHP → AKP), Aug 14, 2025
- Malik Ercan — Yenipazar, Aydın (CHP → AKP), Aug 14, 2025
- Osman Yıldırımkaya — Sultanhisar, Aydın (CHP → AKP), Aug 14, 2025
- Umut Yılmaz — Şehitkamil, Gaziantep (CHP → AKP), Aug 14, 2025
- Yasemin Fazlaca — Altınova, Yalova (CHP → AKP), Aug 14, 2025
- Mustafa Koda — Yalvaç, Isparta (Good Party → AKP), Aug 14, 2025
- İsmail Akpınar — Yeşiltepe (town), Aksaray (Good Party → AKP), Aug 14, 2025
- Muammer Yanık — Bozkurt, Kastamonu (Independent → AKP), Aug 14, 2025
- Hasan Ustaoğlu — Seydişehir, Konya (CHP → AKP), Sep 11, 2025
- Mesut Mertcan — Emirgazi, Konya (New Welfare → AKP), Sep 11, 2025
Following the Mar 31, 2024 local elections, many mayors from the New Welfare (YRP) Party switched to the AKP. Roughly one-third of the 65 municipalities won by YRP changed hands to the AKP within a year.
Members of Parliament (28th Term – selected cases)
- Serap Yazıcı Özbudun — Elected from CHP list/Future Party → AKP, Feb 23, 2025 (at AKP congress)
- Ünal Karaman — Good Party (Konya) → AKP, Feb 23–24, 2025
- Mehmet Salim Ensarioğlu — Good Party (İstanbul) → AKP, Feb 23, 2025
- Dursun Ataş — Good Party (Kayseri) → AKP, Oct 30, 2024
- Seyithan İzsiz — Good Party (İstanbul) → AKP, Aug 14, 2024
- Ahmet Ersagun Yücel — Good Party (İstanbul) → AKP, Aug 14, 2024
- Mustafa Nedim Yamalı — Elected from CHP list/Future Party (Ankara) → AKP, Dec 25, 2024
Those elected from the People’s Alliance who switched to the Nation Alliance
Since 2024, there have been virtually no cases of mayors elected from the AKP or MHP joining the CHP-Good Party bloc. The only recorded example of a “reverse” local switch is Sami Eroğlu, mayor of Bahadın in Sorgun, Yozgat, who moved from the Homeland Party to the CHP on Sep 4, 2025. However, this does not count as a direct defection from the People’s Alliance.
In the Turkish Grand National Assembly, the trend has mostly been in the opposite direction—members elected from the Nation Alliance, especially those originally from the Future or Felicity parties on the CHP or Good Party lists, have joined the People’s Alliance.
In Gaziosmanpaşa, CHP’s Hakan Bahçetepe won the Mar 31, 2024 election with around 40.45% of the vote, narrowly beating the AKP’s 40.12%. However, in early Jun 2025, Bahçetepe was detained and suspended as part of the fifth wave of investigations into the İstanbul Metropolitan Municipality. On Jun 11, 2025, the municipal council elected AKP’s Eray Karadeniz as acting mayor, shifting de facto control of the municipality from the CHP to the AKP. The council had 18 AKP, 17 CHP, and 3 MHP members; the AKP-MHP majority secured the acting mayoral post.
In Aydın Metropolitan Municipality and Söke, a series of resignations from CHP council members followed the defections on Aug 14, 2025, changing the balance of power.
In İncirliova, Aydın, the local council became evenly split in Jan 2025 after a CHP member joined the People’s Alliance.
In Beykoz, CHP candidate Alaattin Köseler won the election with 45.87% against the AKP’s 44.91%. CHP also led the district council vote. On Mar 3, 2025, Köseler was arrested as part of an ongoing investigation. On Mar 10, 2025, the council elected CHP’s Özlem Vural Gürzel as acting mayor. However, on Sep 9–10, 2025, Gürzel resigned from the CHP, and council members Uğur Gökdemir and Murat Uzun also announced their departure from the party. On Sep 13, 2025, President Erdoğan formally welcomed Gürzel into the AKP, and council member Nevzat Cebeci’s defection was also announced at the same ceremony.
In the corruption investigation into Bayrampaşa Municipality, 48 individuals were detained, including CHP mayor Hasan Mutlu. Soon after, four CHP council members, including Murat Salman and İbrahim Soytürk, resigned. As a result, the CHP's representation on the 37-member council dropped to 18, while the AKP, MHP, and independents together reached 19 seats. The acting mayor will now be determined by the independents’ votes.
When I begin writing the article, I didn't think this list would be this long. It doesn’t even cover other significant cases, such as the 15 CHP deputies who temporarily switched to help the Good Party form a parliamentary group and qualify for elections. In the past, the appointment of trustees in place of mayors from the HDP/Green Left/DEM Party was a common practice. Now, the CHP-held municipalities appear to be the new target. Many of them are currently dysfunctional due to the arrest or anticipated detention of their mayors. Economic difficulties have added to the pressure. Municipal employees, unable to receive their salaries, are voicing their discontent.
The AKP is deliberately rendering opposition-held municipalities dysfunctional when it fails to take them over directly, thereby discrediting them in the eyes of voters. But this goes beyond mere obstruction. According to a report by Medyaradar, after the arrest of Beykoz mayor Alaattin Köseler, acting mayor Özlem Vural Gürzel awarded two contracts in a single day to a company named Aktif Sanat İnşaat. The value of the contracts, signed the same day, totaled 173 million liras. İlyas Dönmez, who has also received back-to-back contracts from the Esenler and Bayrampaşa municipalities, has long been active in media. Dönmez was also one of the founding members of the HAS Party alongside Numan Kurtulmuş.
In a democracy, elections are supposed to reflect the people’s will. But if that’s the case, what exactly are we witnessing here? Which will is truly being represented?
To end the cycle of political transfers, party bases must not leave decision-making to higher-ups. They must ensure that merit guides candidate selection and prevent backroom deals. Otherwise, history seems doomed to repeat itself. (Mİ/VK)
