Özlem Çerçioğlu, the long-serving mayor of Aydın, has resigned from the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) and joined President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), confirming days of political speculation.

The CHP, a secular centre-left party founded by Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, has long dominated Aydın, part of Turkey’s Aegean region where the conservative, Islamist-rooted AKP has historically struggled to gain ground.

On the morning of 14 August, several Turkish outlets — citing party sources — reported that Erdoğan would welcome Çerçioğlu at AKP headquarters in Ankara and personally pin the party badge on her jacket. Moments before noon, she announced her resignation from the CHP, citing “anti-democratic practices” and claiming she could no longer work alongside party leadership.

CHP MP Süleyman Bülbül had earlier confirmed the defection rumours, naming the mayors of Sultanhisar, Söke and Yenipazar — all districts within Aydın — as also preparing to leave the CHP. The AKP’s Aydın provincial office initially denied Çerçioğlu would join, saying only that Sultanhisar’s mayor and several councillors were expected.

Behind the rumours was a swirl of claims from CHP figures that Çerçioğlu was defecting under duress. They pointed to an ongoing corruption investigation involving businessman Aziz İhsan Aktaş, alleging it centred on kickbacks and irregular municipal contracts in Aydın.

According to these party sources, prosecutors were preparing charges that could carry prison sentences if pursued. They claimed Çerçioğlu had been presented with an implicit choice: face potentially damaging legal action, including corruption and bribery indictments, or align with the ruling party in exchange for political protection.

CHP officials described the case as part of a........

© Medyascope