Turkish authorities have detained at least 47 people, including five elected mayors from the opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP), as part of a sweeping investigation into İstanbul Metropolitan Municipality and affiliated local governments.
The arrests, announced on Saturday, came in what officials described as the fifth wave of a broader anti-corruption and counter-terrorism probe. Detainees include the mayors of Büyükçekmece, Gaziosmanpaşa, Avcılar (all in İstanbul), and Ceyhan and Seyhan in the southern province of Adana, alongside İstanbul Metropolitan Municipality (İBB) General Secretary Deputy Erdal Celal Aksoy and several senior CHP figures.
According to prosecutors, the investigation targets alleged irregularities in municipal hiring practices and claims of “terrorist infiltration” into public institutions. However, the opposition strongly rejects the accusations and says the operation is politically driven.
CHP İstanbul Chair Özgür Çelik condemned the probe as part of a pattern of judicial harassment. “This is the ‘slander and escape’ system,” he said. “People are being threatened with their freedom, their families, their children — and are being forced to make false accusations. They dream of a Turkey without the CHP, without an opposition, where elections are merely symbolic. But they will not succeed.”
He said a crisis coordination team had been activated and legal teams were monitoring the detentions. CHP leader Özgür Özel, who held emergency talks with party officials, has not cancelled any of his planned rallies, signalling the party’s intention to escalate its public response.
“This is a continuation of the pressure campaign that began after the opposition’s victory in the 2019 local elections,” Çelik added. “They are trying to criminalise public service.”
Ekrem İmamoğlu, İBB Mayor and CHP’s 2028 presidential candidate, widely seen as President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s main rival, was arrested on 23 March for similar charges and remains in Silivri Prison.
The CHP, which emerged as the leading party in the March 2024 local elections, warned that the crackdown represents a broader attempt to dismantle political pluralism in Turkey ahead of anticipated national-level political shifts.
