Turkish authorities arrested three more opposition mayors early Saturday in a sweeping anti-corruption operation. The detained include Adana Mayor Zeydan Karalar (CHP), Antalya Mayor Muhittin Bocek (CHP), and Adıyaman Mayor Abdurrahman Tutdere (CHP). They face allegations of bribery, tender-rigging, and ties to criminal organizations. Karalar, arrested in Istanbul, denounced the move as silencing critics, stating: "Where there is an influential journalist or politician, they silence them". The raids follow months of escalating legal pressure on the Republican People’s Party (CHP), which defeated President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s AKP in 2024 local election.
The arrests mark the latest phase in a crackdown that began with the March imprisonment of Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu, Erdoğan’s chief political rival and the CHP’s 2028 presidential candidate. İmamoğlu’s detention sparked Turkey’s largest protests since 2013. This week, police also detained 137 officials in the opposition stronghold of Izmir, including ex-Mayor Tunç Soyer, with 59 jailed pending trial. Erdoğan defended the operations, claiming corruption extended beyond Istanbul and hinting at further actions: "The biggest radishes are still in the saddlebags", a Turkish idiom implying undisclosed leverage.
CHP leaders and allies universally decried the arrests as politically motivated. Ankara Mayor Mansur Yavaş declared on X: "In a system where the law bends to politics... no one should expect us to trust justice". The pro-Kurdish DEM Party, a parliamentary ally in peace talks with Kurdish militants demanded an end to the "persecution of elected officials," warning it deepens societal rifts and blocks democracy. CHP Deputy Chairman Burhanettin Bulut called the judiciary a "stick for political revenge," vowing defiance.
Beyond the mayoral arrests, Ankara courts are pursuing a case that could nullify the CHP’s 2023 leadership primary. The lawsuit alleges vote-buying in the election of current CHP leader Özgür Özel, who gained prominence during spring protests. If overturned, leadership could revert to Erdoğan-friendly former chair Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, a move analysts call an attempt to install a "controlled opposition". Özel convened emergency meetings Saturday, as the party faces 11 jailed mayors and over 300 detained members since October.
The crackdown coincides with fragile negotiations to end the Kurdish conflict, following the PKK’s May ceasefire declaration after 40,000 deaths. Observers warn silencing the CHP and DEM Party jeopardizes these talks. Meanwhile, the detained mayors governed southern regions critical to Erdoğan’s base, including earthquake-ravaged Adıyaman, which flipped to the CHP in 2024. With CHP polling at 34.6% (versus AKP’s 29.4%), the arrests signal Erdoğan’s urgency to weaken rivals before potential early elections.