Turkish opposition mayor defects amid allegations of legal pressure
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.
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| Turkish opposition mayor defects amid allegations of legal pressureTurkish opposition mayor defects amid allegations of legal pressureTurkish opposition mayor defects amid allegations of legal pressure |
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 wider pattern in recent years, in which opposition-held municipalities and mayors have faced intensive audits, investigations and prosecutions after clashing with the central government.
While Çerçioğlu has denied striking any deal for immunity, she has not directly addressed the specifics of the Aktaş case. In her resignation statement, she said only that she and other mayors had “repeatedly sought solutions” to internal party disputes and been met with “attacks on myself and my family.”
CHP leader Özgür Özel responded furiously, accusing Çerçioğlu of betraying the voters who re-elected her in March with over 50% of the vote.
“Those votes were given to the CHP. Shame on you for running to the AKP,” he told the crowd.
Özel claimed that internal meeting notes and phone conversations showed Çerçioğlu had for years made scathing comments about the AKP, describing it as “corrupt” and “filthy” and portraying herself as a staunch opponent who stood firm “because I am Atatürk’s daughter.” He alleged she regularly shared unflattering political gossip about the ruling party that CHP leadership itself had chosen not to publicise.
“She repeated the same lines for years,” Özel said, adding that her sudden political reversal “shows this is not about principles but about self-preservation.”
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Known nationally by the nickname “Topuklu Efe” — literally “High-Heeled Efe” — Çerçioğlu earned the title early in her mayoralty after refusing to back down on controversial street-vendor crackdowns. The moniker blends efe, the traditional male folk fighters of western Anatolia who defended their communities in the late Ottoman period, with her trademark high heels, symbolising her self-styled image as a tough yet feminine protector of Aydın.
That image was turned against her within hours of the announcement. Crowds of CHP supporters and other opposition voters gathered outside the Aydın Metropolitan Municipality building, chanting “Those votes were not for the AKP” and “We will not be betrayed.” Some protesters held up old campaign posters featuring her in high heels, scrawled over with slogans calling her a “turncoat.”
Police deployed barriers around the building, and minor scuffles were reported as demonstrators attempted to march toward the mayor’s office. Local CHP officials vowed to maintain daily protests, framing her switch not just as a personal political choice but as the overturning of the democratic mandate given to her in March’s local elections.
By late afternoon on 14 August, the speculation became reality. Çerçioğlu appeared at the AKP’s 24th anniversary celebration in Ankara, where Erdoğan formally welcomed her into the party and attached the AKP badge.
“From now on, I will serve Aydın even more under the auspices of my president,” she declared. “If there are allegations against me, let them be brought forward. I have never feared the courts.”
She joined a group of other defecting mayors from Aydın, Gaziantep, Yalova, Isparta, Aksaray and Kastamonu.
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Erdoğan used the ceremony to attack Özel, accusing him of launching “character assassinations” against defectors.
“They are sitting on filth while throwing filth at others to cover their own stench,” he said. “If he is uncomfortable, so be it — we will make him even more uncomfortable.”
In a pointed twist, Erdoğan appeared to echo the same harsh language Çerçioğlu had once used to describe the AKP in private party meetings — remarks that Özel had made public just hours before.
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