Politics
Ankara Mayor Yavaş quits CHP, to continue as independent
Ankara Mayor Mansur Yavaş resigned from the Republican People’s Party (CHP) in an announcement on Wednesday, saying, “I am resigning my membership in the Republican People’s Party and will continue my political path as an independent.”
In a statement on social media, Yavaş said his decision to leave the CHP was not made out of anger or resentment but after careful consideration.
He noted political and legal disputes that began on March 19 and later included debate over the possible annulment of CHP party congresses had brought Turkish politics to a difficult point.
Yavaş said he had sought throughout his tenure to demonstrate a model of municipal governance in Ankara based on transparency, accountability and equal treatment, while using public funds for the benefit of residents.
He also said he had never viewed himself as being above political parties and argued that any democratic change of government in Türkiye would depend on opposition parties finding common ground rather than becoming consumed by internal disputes.
The mayor underlined that he had repeatedly warned that months of political and legal disputes within the CHP risked creating deep divisions in the party and could damage broader confidence in democratic politics.
“I had previously said that if there was discomfort within the party regarding me or the position I had taken, I would do what was necessary,” he said, adding, “Because of some statements made today, I am resigning my membership in the Republican People’s Party and will continue my political path as an independent.”
Yavaş also thanked CHP members and supporters who had worked alongside him during three election campaigns, saying he would remain grateful to those who had supported and placed their trust in him.
CHP Chair Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu also commented on Yavaş’s decision to leave the party. “A resignation is a unilateral decision. It is his own political choice,” Kılıçdaroğlu said.
Moreover, CHP spokesperson Müslim Sarı responded to Yavaş’s resignation from the party, describing the decision as Yavaş’s own political choice.
“A resignation is a unilateral legal act. The mayor has therefore exercised his own will and clarified his political affiliation,” Sarı said.
Sarı said the CHP would have preferred Yavaş to continue his political career within the party, noting that party officials had expressed that position on several occasions.
“We would have preferred him to remain in politics within the institutional framework of the Republican People’s Party,” Sarı said. “But this is his own assessment.”
Sarı had previously criticized Yavaş over what he described as questions of party loyalty, saying the CHP’s institutional identity should take precedence over individual politicians.
“The CHP’s institutional identity is above all of us and comes before all of us. No one is above the CHP, and no one should see themselves as being above the CHP,” Sarı said.
He added that the party expected all of its mayors to participate in events and activities related to the CHP.
Sarı had also criticized Yavaş after the Ankara mayor said both CHP Chair Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu and New Party (YP) leader Özgür Özel had been informed about his meeting with President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.
“A mayor cannot say, when taking an action, that he informed the leader of another party in addition to his own party leader,” Sarı had warned.
Mayors follow Yavaş
Four district mayors in the Turkish capital Ankara also announced their resignations from the main opposition CHP shortly after Ankara Metropolitan Mayor Mansur Yavaş said he was leaving the party to continue his political career as an independent.
The mayors of Beypazarı, Kalecik, Güdül and Polatlı announced their decisions separately on social media, with several saying they would continue to work alongside Yavaş.
Beypazarı Mayor Özer Kasap said he was leaving the CHP and would continue serving as an independent, stressing that his priority remained providing services to residents of the district.
“I stand behind the promises I made to my fellow citizens who trusted and supported me on this path we embarked on with Mayor Mansur Yavaş.”
Kalecik Mayor Satılmış Karakoç also said he would continue his mayoral duties as an independent while maintaining his political alignment with Yavaş.
Karakoç stated his approach to local government would remain unchanged and that he would continue serving residents regardless of their political views.
“Our responsibility toward Kalecik will not change,” he said, adding that he would remain alongside Yavaş.
Güdül Mayor Mehmet Doğanay cited disagreements with the CHP’s current leadership and an ongoing political and legal dispute within the party as reasons for his resignation.
Doğanay said his decision did not represent a break with the CHP’s historical legacy or the principles of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, founder of the Republic of Türkiye and the CHP.
He said he would continue working with Yavaş while serving Güdül as an independent mayor.
Polatlı Mayor Mürsel Yıldızkaya similarly announced that he was leaving the CHP, citing issues raised by Yavaş in his own resignation statement.
Yıldızkaya said he would continue his political activities and municipal work independently alongside Yavaş.
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan met Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan in New York on Wednesday, as Türkiye and Armenia continue efforts to advance a yearslong normalization process between the two neighbors.
The closed-door meeting was held at the Turkish House, or Türkevi, on the sidelines of the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly, the Turkish Presidency said.
Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan also attended the meeting.
Erdoğan has been holding a series of bilateral talks with world leaders during his visit to New York for the annual U.N. gathering.
Türkiye and Armenia have intensified diplomatic contacts in recent years in an effort to normalize relations after decades of strained ties. The two countries appointed special representatives for normalization talks in late 2021, while direct flights and air cargo links have since resumed.
The normalization process has gained further momentum alongside efforts to establish lasting peace between Armenia and Azerbaijan. Ankara has repeatedly said progress in Türkiye-Armenia relations and a comprehensive peace agreement between Baku and Yerevan could help unlock greater regional stability, connectivity and economic cooperation in the South Caucasus.
Türkiye and Armenia do not currently have full diplomatic relations, while their land border, closed since 1993, has yet to fully reopen.
Türkiye and Iraq agreed Wednesday to deepen security cooperation, restore full Iraqi state authority in Sinjar and begin the gradual handover of the Bashiqa-Zilkan military base to Baghdad under an agreed timetable.
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi announced the steps in a joint statement following talks in New York on the sidelines of the 81st United Nations General Assembly.
The two leaders reviewed the strategic relationship between Türkiye and Iraq and agreed to strengthen bilateral cooperation across a range of areas, with security taking a central role in the discussions.
Under the agreement, the two countries will work toward fully restoring Iraqi state authority in Sinjar and ending the presence of banned foreign armed groups in the area.
As progress is made in implementing the security measures, Turkish forces will gradually hand over the Bashiqa-Zilkan base to Iraq’s federal government in accordance with a mutually agreed mechanism and timetable, the statement said.
Ankara and Baghdad also agreed to expand bilateral trade and investment, accelerate the implementation of previously signed agreements and advance joint strategic projects.
The two sides placed particular emphasis on speeding up the Development Road Project, a major transport and infrastructure corridor designed to connect Iraq’s Gulf coast with Türkiye and onward to European markets.
Türkiye is continuing a peace process aimed at securing the disarmament of the PKK terrorist group and ending its decadeslong campaign of violence, as Ankara and Baghdad deepen security cooperation. Under an agreed mechanism and timetable, Turkish forces will gradually hand over the Bashiqa-Zelikan base near Mosul to the Iraqi government as Baghdad advances security measures in the area.
Türkiye deployed troops near Mosul in 2015 to train and protect Iraqi forces and local fighters preparing to combat Daesh. U.S. Ambassador to Türkiye and special envoy for Syria and Iraq Tom Barrack welcomed the latest agreement, saying it served both “Iraqi sovereignty and Turkish security.” The two countries also agreed to strengthen trade ties, swiftly implement existing agreements and accelerate strategic projects.
Meanwhile, Turkish Energy and Natural Resources Minister Alparslan Bayraktar said the country’s goal is to strengthen Iraq’s and the region’s energy security through electricity interconnections and natural gas and oil pipelines as part of the Development Road Project.
“We will work determinedly to boost bilateral trade, strengthen access to international energy markets, and advance the Türkiye-Iraq partnership through concrete projects supporting regional prosperity,” he added.
Turkish police detained 11 foreign nationals in Istanbul on Thursday in an operation targeting suspected links to the Daesh and al-Qaida terrorist groups, according to authorities.
Counterterrorism units, working with the Istanbul police intelligence branch, launched an investigation into suspects believed to have been in contact with members of the two groups in conflict zones.
Authorities said investigators identified the suspects and their addresses after determining they allegedly shared social media posts praising the terrorist groups.
Police also assessed that the suspects could potentially carry out attacks targeting Türkiye, authorities said.
Officers carried out simultaneous raids at the identified addresses and detained 11 suspects. Police seized a knife, eight rounds of ammunition and a large amount of digital material during searches of the properties.
The suspects were taken to police headquarters for further questioning and processing.
Türkiye has conducted sustained counterterrorism operations against Daesh for years, targeting members, facilitators and financial networks both domestically and across its borders. Turkish security forces regularly carry out nationwide raids to prevent attacks and dismantle the organization’s presence in the country.
Daesh remains a threat to Türkiye, which has lost dozens of citizens in attacks carried out by the group, particularly during the period when it was active in neighboring Iraq and Syria. The country has also sought to bring Turkish nationals affiliated with the terrorist group back from abroad.
An 18-member delegation of Palestinian judges and prosecutors is attending an international training program in Türkiye focusing on cybercrime and money laundering as Ankara and Palestine seek to expand cooperation in judicial education.
The delegation, led by Wesam Salayma, director of the Palestinian Judicial Institute, is taking part in the International Training Program on Combating Cybercrime and Money Laundering organized by the Justice Academy of Türkiye, according to a statement from the academy.
The Palestinian delegation traveled to Türkiye under a memorandum of understanding signed between the two sides to strengthen cooperation in the training of judges, prosecutors and assistant judges and prosecutors.
Speaking at the opening of the program, Justice Academy of Türkiye President Metin Yıldırım highlighted what he described as the historic and strong ties between Türkiye and Palestine.
Yıldırım said cooperation in judicial education would further strengthen the exchange of knowledge and experience between the judicial institutions of the two sides.
He also said the academy would continue its international judicial training activities and seek to deepen cooperation with judicial institutions in partner countries.
Referring to developments in Palestine and Gaza, Yıldırım expressed solidarity with the Palestinian people and emphasized the importance of continuing cooperation with Palestinian judicial officials in training and education.
The program aims to strengthen judicial training and the exchange of professional experience, with sessions focusing on crimes that have become increasingly diverse and transnational alongside rapid technological developments.
Academics and members of the judiciary are providing training on issues including crypto assets and criminal law, cyberbullying, crimes involving personal data, the collection of electronic evidence, technology-based investigative measures and the use of artificial intelligence in cybercrime.
The training is part of broader judicial cooperation between Türkiye and Palestine under the memorandum of understanding between their judicial training institutions.
The agreement provides for joint symposiums, conferences, workshops and training programs as well as exchanges of experts and academics.
It also envisages joint scientific research, the preparation of educational materials and publications, the development of digital training platforms, reciprocal internship programs and work on joint curricula.
The memorandum will remain in effect for five years after its signing and will automatically be renewed for successive three-year periods unless either side notifies the other that it does not intend to renew it.
A civil-society organization representing Turks in Western Thrace on Wednesday criticized remarks by Greek Deputy Education Minister Nikos Papaioannou linking the use of Turkish in minority education to what he described as efforts to bring the minority under a single identity.
The Federation of Western Thrace Turks in Europe (ABTTF) said in a statement that Turkish is the mother tongue of the Turkish minority in Western Thrace and an integral part of the community’s identity and educational autonomy.
The federation said Greece recognizes the special status of the minority education system in Western Thrace as stemming from the 1923 Treaty of Lausanne, while arguing that government policies have gradually weakened its autonomy in education.
The ABTTF also said minority schools have had their operations suspended one by one on the grounds of declining student numbers and that Turkish families face difficulties when seeking to enroll their children in minority schools.
The group rejected what it described as attempts to portray the Turkish language as a means of eliminating differences within the minority and bringing its members under a single identity.
It called on Greece to fulfill its obligations under the Treaty of Lausanne and to restore the autonomous structure of the minority education system.
The statement came in response to remarks by Papaioannou in the Greek parliament.
Responding to a parliamentary question from NIKI party lawmaker Yorgos Rountas, Papaioannou said the minority education system in Western Thrace was based on the Treaty of Lausanne.
He argued, however, that the prominent role of Turkish in minority education served to bring the minority under a single identity.
Papaioannou also rejected characterizations that minority schools were being “closed,” arguing that the”suspension of their operations” was the result of declining student numbers.
Ali Ihsan Yavuz, deputy chair of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party), told journalists on Tuesday that they had concluded their work on a new constitution “to a point” and would soon present it to the party’s chair, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. Replacing the oft-patched, outdated and undemocratic Constitution, originally drafted upon the orders of the military junta that seized power in 1980, has been an ambition of Erdoğan.
Yavuz, a member of a committee formed by the party at Erdoğan’s instruction to work on a new constitution, said their ambition remained intact. “Sooner or later, we will accomplish drafting a new, civilian, democratic constitution,” Yavuz said at an event in the central province of Eskişehir on Tuesday. He said they were working to arrange a meeting with Erdoğan amid his tight schedule. “When the opportunity arises, the constitution will be shaped and implemented,” he said.
Since the founding of the Republic of Türkiye, constitutional design has served as the backbone of the country’s legal system. The current Constitution, adopted in 1982, has been repeatedly amended over the decades, most notably in 2017, when a national referendum paved the way for the country’s transition from a parliamentary model to an executive presidential system.
Despite numerous amendments over the decades, replacing the 1982 Constitution with a new, civilian-drafted charter remains a prominent issue in Türkiye’s political debate.
Erdoğan and Parliament Speaker Numan Kurtulmuş have repeatedly advocated for a new civilian constitution, arguing that the existing charter retains the legacy of the military rule under which it was drafted despite extensive subsequent amendments.
Kurtulmuş said in August 2026 that Türkiye’s political climate and level of dialogue had matured sufficiently for work toward a new civilian constitution, describing such a charter as a longstanding objective.
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