Politics
Kirkuk governor visits Türkiye, praises President Erdoğan
Mohammed Samaan Agha, newly elected Turkmen governor of Iraq’s Kirkuk, visited the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) on Monday. Agha met the party’s deputy chair, Kürşad Zorlu, who announced that the province would join the Union of Turkic World Municipalities soon.
For his part, Agha lauded President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s strong policies in the region, which “led to the election of a Turkmen governor in Kirkuk.”
Zorlu emphasized that Kirkuk is a highly important center and a significant symbol of Iraq–Türkiye relations. “Under the leadership of our President, we have taken very important steps in our relations with Iraq. In particular, the Development Road Project has been one of the most important milestones in our relations. Security and stability are among the key issues for Kirkuk. Kirkuk is a center where everyone should live in peace and tranquility. Ensuring Kirkuk’s security and peace means ensuring Iraq’s security and peace. Therefore, every step taken in our region that serves its stability and security is very important.”
Pointing out that the appointment of a Turkmen governor in Kirkuk was a promising development for peace and harmony in the city and for its future, Zorlu said, “No matter how much some people try to create division and polarization, peace has prevailed in Kirkuk. In Kirkuk, not only Turkmens but all those living there, regardless of origin or sect, have benefited from the city’s opportunities. We are pleased to see this and derive great satisfaction from it.”
Zorlu stated that President Erdoğan is highly sensitive both about the future of bilateral relations and about protecting the rights, freedoms, identities, languages, and constitutional rights of the Turkmens living in Kirkuk, and said that he closely follows this process.
Agha, who was chairperson of the Iraqi Turkmen Front, was elected by the Kirkuk Provincial Council on April 16 as the first Turkmen governor in decades in the province.
Kirkuk has a sizable population of Turkmens and has been a contested area in terms of elections due to its diverse demographics. It has also been a place contested between the Iraqi administration in Baghdad and Iraq’s Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), which controls most of northern Iraq. It was once part of Mosul province, which Türkiye wanted to control after the fall of the Ottoman Empire following World War I. Kirkuk’s last governor of Turkmen origin was Fettah Pasha, who governed during the Kingdom of Iraq, which was under British mandate.
Zorlu noted that during the visit, they especially discussed infrastructure projects, strengthening public services in Kirkuk, creating opportunities for young people and women, and similar issues.
“We also discussed the governor’s initiative to have Kirkuk join the Union of Turkic World Municipalities. In this regard, we held consultations. The Union’s President, the Mayor of Konya Metropolitan Municipality, will also participate in the meeting. God willing, Kirkuk will join the Union of Turkic World Municipalities,” he said.
Agha said that the stronger Türkiye’s foreign policy is, the more Turks abroad can stand strong and struggle.
Emphasizing that what they experienced in Kirkuk is proof of this, he said: “If it were not for this work by the instruction of the Republic of Türkiye’s Honorable President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and his strong policy, and if it were not for the support of the institutions, a Turkmen governor could not have been elected in Kirkuk, this is a fact.”
Agha said that after taking office, the Iraqi Turkmen Front engaged with all political groups without discrimination, noting that he delivered his first speech as governor in Arabic, Turkish, Kurdish, and Syriac.
“We Turks, whichever country we live in, whatever country it may be, are a nation that respects our geography, the constitution, flag, land, and territorial integrity of the country we are in. A Turk never allows his country to be divided. That is why we stood against all division policies in Iraq. We stood up for Iraq’s territorial integrity. We became the cement of Iraq, so to speak. We maintained the brotherhood between Kurds and Arabs. Today, what suits us is to protect our flag, our geography, and our sovereignty, and to cooperate with the State of the Republic of Türkiye,” he said.
Pointing out that there are matters on which the two countries should cooperate in many areas, Agha said that one of them is the Development Road Project, which is planned to be completed in 2028.
Describing the project as vital for both Türkiye and Iraq, the governor said it would provide substantial benefits to Iraq, foster stronger trade cooperation and receive all possible support from local authorities.
Voters in six newly established municipalities and 362 neighborhoods across Türkiye will head to the polls on Sunday to elect local officials in by-elections triggered by administrative changes, deaths, resignations and other vacancies.
The elections will be held in six settlements that recently gained township status, including four in Tokat province, one in Gümüşhane and one in Nevşehir. Residents will vote to elect mayors and municipal council members, while voters in 362 neighborhoods nationwide will choose neighborhood heads, known as muhtars, and members of local councils.
Polling stations will open at 8 a.m. local time and close at 5 p.m., according to the Supreme Election Council (YSK).
The municipalities participating in the vote include Yolüstü and Çevrecik in Tokat’s Reşadiye district, Bağtaşı in Almus district, Kuşçu in Yeşilyurt district, Tekke in Gümüşhane province and Mustafapaşa in Nevşehir’s Ürgüp district.
A total of 27 political parties will compete in the municipal elections. The parties’ positions on the unified ballot were determined by a lottery held by the YSK on April 21.
The by-elections were called under Türkiye’s Law No. 2972 governing local administrations, neighborhood headships and local council elections. The law requires elections to fill local offices when new municipalities are established or when vacancies occur because of death, resignation or other reasons.
Election officials are expected to announce preliminary results shortly after voting ends Sunday evening.
Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan is set to meet Singaporean officials on Tuesday, including Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan and Prime Minister Lawrence Wong, as Türkiye seeks to deepen ties with the Southeast Asian nation, diplomatic sources said Monday.
Fidan will hold talks with Singapore Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan during his visit to Singapore on June 2.
The top Turkish diplomat is also expected to be received by Singapore Prime Minister Lawrence Wong and meet Home Affairs Minister and Coordinating Minister for National Security K. Shanmugam.
As part of his visit, Fidan is scheduled to deliver remarks at an event organized by the think tank International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS).
The meetings are expected to begin at 6 a.m. Türkiye time, and no joint news conference is planned, the sources said.
Gürsel Tekin, who was appointed as trustee to the Istanbul branch of the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) in 2025, is one of the staunch defenders of Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, the new chair of the party. As the Özgür Özel administration engaged in a battle to take the seat back from Kılıçdaroğlu, Tekin said Kılıçdaroğlu has more support than the public was led to believe.
A former lieutenant of Kılıçdaroğlu, Tekin spoke to the Sabah newspaper on Monday, commenting on the reinstatement of Kılıçdaroğlu by a court verdict last month, after Özgür Özel was ousted amid a lawsuit over a November 2023 election, on allegations of vote-buying in his favor.
He hit back the criticism of last Saturday’s event at party’s headquarters by the Özel supporters and denied “lack of interest” to the event where Kılıçdaroğlu made his first public speech after his reinstatement. He also rejected claims that people attending the event were not linked to the party. “All party members voluntarily attended the event and turnout was higher than we expected. People come to Ankara on their own and demonstrate a valuable example of solidarity. I am thankful to all party members,” he said.
Tekin argued that pro-Özel camp in CHP relied on social media influence too much and said politics cannot be redesigned through social media. “I am in touch with people every day, and hold in-person meetings. We see an extraordinary interest (in Kılıçdaroğlu’s comeback). Let (the Özel camp) choose any location in Istanbul and let’s see how many people they’d talk to will support them. We are with the people. Those who do not stand with us are online troll gangs,” Tekin said.
He stated that a large number of CHP supporters left the party during three years of Özel’s tenure. “In Istanbul alone, some 29,000 members quit. This is a striking number. I will work to win them back. We are working for unity, brotherhood of CHP,” he said.
He also criticized pro-Özel media outlets, which were funded by the Özel administration in the past. “They have been disappointed. I thought some journalists in those media outlets were dignified people but they have not talked to me since (appointment as CHP Istanbul chair). They criticize us, but they deprive us of the right of response,” he stated.
A storm is brewing in the otherwise calm waters of the Aegean Sea, dividing Türkiye and Greece. While Türkiye seeks to assert its rights on the sea whose both shores are popular summer destinations, Greece is reportedly gearing up to counter it, per reports by Turkish and Greek media outlets.
In response to the “Blue Homeland” draft bill unveiled in early May in Ankara, Athens is reportedly considering declaring new “marine parks” in the Aegean Sea while expanding the limits of its territorial waters south of Crete island, according to the reports.
The Greek government did not confirm reports, but Foreign Minister George Gerapetritis was recently quoted as saying that they would “absolutely utilize legal tools of response if Ankara takes this matter to new extremes.”
Greece last year announced two marine parks or areas for protection of maritime species in the Ionian Sea and southern islands of Cyclades, to the chagrin of Ankara. Türkiye argued that the declaration of marine parks near the islands in particular was political rather than for the sake of biodiversity and was an attempt to change the status quo in the disputed sea. The Greek media outlets reported that new marine parks can be declared near Dodecanese islands, or “On Iki Ada” (Twelve Islands) as they are known in Türkiye. The islands were Ottoman domain until the early 20th century before they were ceded to Italy. Italy, in turn, ceded them to Greece following World War II.
“Blue Homeland” is the name of a doctrine conceived by two former Turkish naval officers. The doctrine encompasses Türkiye’s maritime jurisdiction, exclusive economic zone and continental shelf in line with United Nations resolutions. These connected issues have been a source of dispute between Türkiye and Greece for decades.
Ankara and Athens seek to improve relations after years of hostilities, but maritime jurisdictions remain a thorny issue. The countries, which came close to an all-out war in the 1990s over the Aegean Sea, remain vigilant, with Türkiye concentrating on developing a domestic defense industry. Greece relies on foreign partners to boost its defenses. Embracing the doctrine of being effective and powerful at sea as its predecessor, the Ottomans, were once, Türkiye in the past two decades has developed an independent defense industry capable of operating in open waters, thereby shifting geopolitical balances in its favor. The navy plays a critical role in ensuring the security of maritime trade routes in the Eastern Mediterranean, the Black Sea and the Aegean Sea, promoting regional stability.
Safeguarding the Blue Homeland rights is essential for Ankara, especially at a time of growing international cooperation, particularly with Israel, for Greece and the Greek Cypriot administration, whose maritime claims contradict those of Türkiye and other countries.
The bill was introduced to the public on May 12 at a press conference organized by Ankara University’s National Center for the Sea and Maritime Law (DEHUKAM), the main body that prepares maritime maps to support Türkiye’s maritime jurisdiction policies. Professor Çağrı Erhan, acting chair of the Turkish Presidency’s Board of Security and Foreign Policies, told the press conference that maritime laws have been dynamic and Türkiye needed to follow developments in the laws. He said the draft bill was not specifically aimed at any country.
“We are talking about a text based on the rights and interests of the Turkish nation. Other countries may believe that the world belongs to them only. We do not heed what they are worried about,” he said, in thinly veiled remarks against Greece.
Over the past century, the Republic of Türkiye has been at odds with its neighbors over maritime rights. Similarly, Greece invoked international laws that are also supposed to protect the rights of Türkiye. Speaking to Daily Sabah last month, Hüseyin Fazla, founder and director of Strategic Research Centre (STRASAM) and a retired air force brigadier general, said the draft bill brought a fresh point of view to “a mechanism where Türkiye strived to maintain control over its maritime jurisdiction through various laws and regulations,” noting that it was significant to amalgamate steps on the issues regarding continental shelf, exclusive economic zones, etc. He added that the draft also included the definition of internal bodies of water, such as the Çanakkale Strait, Marmara Sea and Bosporus, and this was another significant aspect of the bill. “This, on the other hand, does not contradict the Treaty of Montreaux and rather, it is a viewpoint reinforcing Türkiye’s sovereign rights,” he said.
Interior Minister Mustafa Çiftçi visited the headquarters of the elite Special Operations Police in Ankara on Sunday, where he exchanged greetings of Qurban Bayram, or Eid al-Adha, with police officers.
The occasion was also a tribute to members of Special Operations slaughtered by military infiltrators of the Gülenist Terror Group (FETÖ) during the July 15, 2016 coup attempt.
Speaking there, Çiftçi said the Special Operations Directorate has repeatedly demonstrated what sacrifice meant since its inception. “On the night of July 15, an act of betrayal by those who sold their souls beyond the ocean took place,” he said, referring to FETÖ’s leader Fetullah Gülen, who was residing on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean, specifically in the United States, during the coup attempt.
“Those traitors aiming at our nation’s will bombed the Special Operations Directorate, whose members have always been loyal to God, their homeland, the nation and the state. That dark night, however, was illuminated by heroes who acted under the leadership of our president, by heroes who became a member of this haven of martyrs,” he said.
A total of 51 police officers were killed at the headquarters of Special Operations Police in Ankara’s Gölbaşı district when F-16 fighter jets commanded by putschists carried out two strikes on the building where police officers were mobilized to counter putschists attempting to take over the capital.
“As the sons and daughters of this noble nation, many of you spend holidays away from your families and loved ones, working on duty to ensure the peace and security of our people. Therefore, if we are able to celebrate a holiday in peace and safety, if there is happiness instead of tears in mothers’ eyes and joy instead of sorrow in children’s eyes, if holidays truly feel like holidays, it is thanks to your sacrifice. We know very well that the peace enjoyed by this nation is often the result of your sleepless nights and the holidays you spend serving on duty,” Çiftçi told the police officers.
Çiftçi stated that he remembered the martyrs with mercy, gratitude and appreciation, and wished good health to the veterans. Thanking the parents of the Special Operations police officers as well, Çiftçi said, “You are a source of pride and confidence for this nation. Both our state and our people recognize and take pride in your sacrifices. May God preserve our unity and solidarity. May He protect our heroic security forces from all dangers.”
Buca district of western province of Izmir, a stronghold of the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) was rocked by an anti-corruption operation on Monday. Incumbent Mayor Görkem Duman and his predecessor Erhan Kılıç were detained, along with 51 other suspects.
Earlier, authorities have issued detention warrants for 62 suspects. A manhunt is underway to capture the other suspects. Along with mayors, three deputy mayors, the former chair of CHP’s Buca branch, municipal bureaucrats and 16 businesspeople were detained.
Chief Prosecutor’s Office said in a statement that suspects were involved in a criminal ring utilizing the resources of the municipality to enrich themselves, were bribed by contractors, involved in irregularities in construction works, illicitly used credit cards, bank accounts belonging to the municipality for their personal expenses, assaulted people who posted stories about alleged wrongdoings in the municipality and paid “ghost employees.”
Authorities have conducted another anti-corruption operation against corruption in the municipality last February and arrested seven suspects. Last month, Mustafa Günay, another CHP mayor for Izmir’s Güzelbahçe district, was arrested and suspended from his office, on charges of corruption.
Duman was already under fire for vacationing in Thailand with his girlfriend while unpaid workers of the municipality went on a strike late last year.
The office said that based on surveillance by police, tip-offs to a public hotline and accounts of eyewitnesses, suspects attempted to hide the technical irregularities in construction projects through forged documents, arranged paperwork to give retrospective legitimacy to illegally built buildings, and laundered bribe money through construction companies and luxury properties.
Suspects are accused of approving additional floors to certain construction projects in Buca, violating construction laws. Some municipal bureaucrats among the suspects are accused of fast-tracking the approval process for problematic projects, possibly in exchange for bribes.
According to the statement, contractors among suspects supplied cash, flats and other benefits to municipal officials in return of turning a blind eye to irregularities.
Contractors allegedly sought to disguise bribes through various tactics and the cash flow involving the bribes was codenamed as “soap” by suspects.
Regarding the usage of municipal resources for personal expenses, prosecutors said some suspects withdrew cash from municipal coffers without offering any service in return and funds of municipal subsidiaries were allocated to cover the expenses for political events, from accommodation and catering to car rentals for said events.
Suspects are also accused of rigging tenders for acquisitions for the municipality, from vehicle rentals to the purchase of tires, garbage containers and event planning, and awarding lucrative contracts to certain companies, in exchange for bribes.
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