Key facts
- Izmir Mayor Cemil Tugay joined President Tayyip Erdogan's ruling AK Party on Wednesday.
- Tugay was elected mayor of Izmir in March 2024 as a candidate of the Republican People's Party (CHP).
- He resigned from the CHP in June, citing party expulsions and erosion of democratic will.
- The move gives the AK Party the mayoralty of Izmir, a city it has never won at the ballot box.
- Tugay won the March 2024 election with 49% of the vote, while the AKP candidate received 37%.
Cemil Tugay, the mayor of Izmir, Turkey's third-largest city and a traditional stronghold of the secular opposition, officially joined President Tayyip Erdogan's ruling AK Party on Wednesday. Tugay, who was elected in March 2024 as a candidate for the Republican People's Party (CHP), had previously resigned from the CHP in June. The ceremony was led by Erdogan in Ankara. This move represents a significant symbolic victory for Erdogan's party in Izmir, a city long considered the heartland of Turkey's secular, social democratic opposition, and one that the AK Party has never won through an election. Tugay secured 49% of the vote in the March election, compared to 37% for the AKP candidate. The defection occurs amid a broader crackdown on municipalities run by the opposition, with many mayors facing corruption charges that critics deem politically motivated.