Turkish opposition leader condemns local officials defecting to AKP

Özgür Özel, leader of the social democratic Yeni Parti, has condemned dozens of elected local officials for defecting to President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP). Speaking to supporters in the Üsküdar district of Istanbul, Özel labeled the defectors “traitors and those who have been sold.”

These shifts have allowed the AKP to regain control of several strategic municipalities. In Istanbul, the AKP now controls 20 of the 39 municipal councils in the metropolitan area, up from 13 following the 2024 local elections. This change in Üsküdar occurred after four opposition council members joined the AKP, following the arrest of the opposition mayor in late July.

Analysts suggest these defections reflect intense pressure on the Turkish opposition. This trend has been accompanied by a wave of arrests of opposition officials on corruption charges, including the March 2025 arrest of Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu, a prominent political rival to Erdoğan.