Izmir mayor joins AK Party in major shift for opposition stronghold

Izmir Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Cemil Tugay, who previously resigned from the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP), joined the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) on Wednesday.

"I welcome Izmir Mayor Cemil Tugay who is today joining the AK Party family," Erdogan told party members at Legislative Year Opening Meeting with AK Party Deputies at the AK Party Congress Center in Ankara.

Tugay joined the ruling party during the AK Party’s first parliamentary group meeting of the new legislative year at its Ankara headquarters on Oct. 7.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who also chairs the AK Party, pinned the party badge on Tugay during the meeting.

Turkish President and Leader of the Justice and Development (AK Party) Recep Tayyip Erdogan attends the Legislative Year Opening Meeting with AK Party Deputies at the AK Party Congress Center in Ankara, Türkiye on October 7, 2026. (AA Photo)

The move brings Izmir Metropolitan Municipality under AK Party control for the first time, despite the ruling party having never won a local election in the city.

Tugay was elected Izmir mayor in April 2024 just after CHP's local election victory.

However, in June this year, he resigned from the party after a controversial court ruling plunged CHP into crisis, ousting its leader Ozgur Ozel, who left to form the New Party, which is now Turkey's main opposition.

Despite leaving CHP, Tugay did not follow Ozel's New Party, saying he would remain independent, with rumours emerging over the summer that he was considering defecting to the AK Party.

Speculation intensified last week after Tugay met Erdogan at the presidential palace in Ankara on Sept. 30.

Izmir long seen as CHP stronghold

Izmir, Türkiye’s third-largest province, has been governed by mayors from the Democratic Left Party (DSP) and CHP since 1999.

The last metropolitan mayor elected from a right-wing party in Izmir was Burhan Ozfatura, who first ran from the Motherland Party (ANAP), and later from the True Path Party (DYP)

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In 1999, DSP’s Ahmet Pristina was elected mayor.

After Pristina’s death, Izmir remained under CHP mayors for more than two decades.

AK Party nominated Binali Yildirim for Izmir Metropolitan Municipality in 2014, Nihat Zeybekci in 2019 and Hamza Dag in 2024, but failed to win the city in all three elections.

October 07, 2026 01:05 PM GMT+03:00