Politics
Türkiye’s AK Party pursues municipal reforms
More transparency in municipalities and improvement of public services are on the agenda of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party). A draft paper on municipal reforms was discussed at the party’s central executive board meeting, chaired by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, on Monday.
Erdoğan has earlier called for a better inspection on how municipal funds are utilized, as municipalities run by the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) face numerous investigations for rampant corruption, including bribes to mayors.
According to a study presented by the party’s Local Governments Directorate to the central executive board, mayors will be required to disclose the assets they acquire during their terms in office.
Municipal tender information, the number of contracts and detailed spending items will be shared with the public on a monthly basis. The draft proposal also scrutinizes the practice of mayors appointing relatives to municipal positions. The initiative aims to make service-oriented and efficient governance a mandatory component of the system.
The reform package also includes various measures to ensure the regular collection of municipalities’ growing debts to the Social Security Institution (SGK). The goal is to strengthen fiscal discipline and prevent public losses.
During the meeting, Erdoğan drew attention to what he described as opposition-run municipalities’ shortcomings in delivering services. Emphasizing that water management is a core municipal responsibility, Erdoğan said, “They say, ‘Let the State Hydraulic Works (DSI) handle it.’ We will do the work and deliver the water, but we must explain to the public that this is their responsibility. Water is the source of civilization, production, energy and life. Managing water requires experience and vision.”
Referring to his tenure as mayor of Istanbul, Erdoğan said, “I come from a mayoral background. We brought water to Istanbul from the Istranca Mountains, 180 kilometers (111.85 miles) away. We took over the municipality from the CHP mentality. CHP-run municipalities cannot deliver the water they have to the people. Our citizens are waiting in tanker lines with plastic containers. That is the difference between us,” he said, referring to recent water shortages in the opposition-run cities.
As Türkiye pushes for safe shipping across the Black Sea, Russia announced that it “worked closely” with Ankara to ensure it. Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said this in response to remarks by Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan about a proposal sent to Moscow for ending hostilities in the Black Sea.
Türkiye has been pushing Russia and Ukraine to suspend attacks on civilian vessels, with Fidan demanding a “moratorium” on Aug. 8. The attacks have intensified as the foes seek to damage each other’s export revenues, with the war now raging into a fifth year.
NATO member Türkiye maintains relations with Kyiv and Moscow and has declined to join Western sanctions against Russia. Its ships are active in the Black Sea, sailing under various countries’ flags, with several hit by drones believed to be launched by Ukraine.
In August, the Foreign Ministry said it had summoned Ukraine’s envoy following an attack on the Lider Bordo Mavi, a container ship off the Russian coast, and a subsequent attack on the Lider Kocatepe, which was sent to tow it away. Both are Turkish-owned vessels. Anchored in the northeastern port of Trabzon, the Lider Bordo Mavi appeared to have sustained damage to its bridge deck and the two decks below, showing signs of major fire damage, Agence France-Presse (AFP) correspondents said.
Türkiye has repeatedly raised the idea of reviving the grain corridor format to safeguard Black Sea shipping, with President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan saying he would discuss the matter with Russian President Vladimir Putin in November.
Türkiye’s main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) is preparing for a leadership congress expected in spring 2027, with party sources saying provincial chairs are likely to support incumbent leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu for another term.
The CHP formally launched its congress process on Sept. 10, beginning a schedule that will see delegates and local party officials elected across Türkiye’s 81 provinces.
All district and provincial congresses are scheduled to be completed by Feb. 14, after which the CHP’s Party Assembly is expected to determine the date of the national congress.
Kılıçdaroğlu is widely expected within the party to seek the leadership again. Party sources noted that they do not currently expect a major challenger and claimed provincial chairs broadly support his continued leadership.
Discussions among provincial officials have already begun, the sources said, adding that the chairs could issue a joint declaration backing Kılıçdaroğlu shortly before the congress.
The congress will follow months of upheaval within the CHP after a court ruling invalidated the party’s 2023 congress, leading to his return to the leadership.
Since returning, Kılıçdaroğlu has overseen changes to provincial and district organizations and disciplinary proceedings involving several party members.
The upcoming local congresses will also elect a new group of delegates who will ultimately take part in choosing the CHP leadership at the national congress.
Türkiye on Monday rejected international media claims that its “My Family is Safe” operations were being conducted arbitrarily or against specific groups, saying the investigations target organized criminal networks accused of offenses including drug trafficking, prostitution and child abuse.
The Directorate of Communications described the reports as “unfounded,” saying they distorted the purpose and legal basis of the nationwide operations.
Authorities said the investigations focus on organized networks suspected of involvement in narcotics, prostitution, facilitating prostitution and the abuse or exploitation of children.
The directorate stressed that protecting children from drugs, sexual abuse, commercial sexual exploitation and digital manipulation is a fundamental responsibility of the state.
It said investigations are being conducted under judicial supervision and based on evidence, official reports and legal proceedings in accordance with the rule of law.
The statement also linked the measures to Türkiye’s 2026-2035 “Decade of Family and Population,” under which authorities have pledged to pursue policies centered on protecting children and strengthening families.
Türkiye will continue efforts to safeguard children and the family structure despite what the directorate described as external pressure and disinformation campaigns, the statement said.
The directorate also urged the international community to exercise caution over reports it said were intended to misrepresent the operations and influence international public opinion.
Denizkurdu, or Sea Wolf, returned for its first phase on Sunday. Turkish Naval Forces launched the twice-yearly drill, which will continue until Sept. 25, to polish the skills of its personnel and demonstrate the growing power of its fleet, bolstered by locally made vehicles.
Sea Wolf, involving 100 vessels, 50 aircraft, including drones, and 14,000 military personnel, will test the navy in the Black Sea, Aegean Sea and Eastern Mediterranean. Türkiye seeks to assert its authority in the three seas through the “Blue Homeland” concept of preserving its maritime boundaries. The exercise comes amid growing tensions between Türkiye and Greece over a dispute regarding Aegean borders and the military status of Greek islands lying a few miles from the Turkish coast. The exercise is being held on Sept. 20-25.
The Turkish military will simultaneously conduct drills in the three seas. Along with the naval forces, soldiers from the land forces, air forces and coast guard will participate in the drills. The Defense Ministry recently said the exercise would include training for operational preparedness and weapons training.
Sea Wolf exercises, which are held in two phases every year, “Denizkurdu-I” and “Denizkurdu-II,” are among the largest maritime drills in the Turkish Armed Forces’ calendar. They serve to demonstrate Türkiye’s naval deterrence and its ability to coordinate across multiple regions, including the Black Sea, Aegean and Mediterranean.
Türkiye continues to modernize its naval capabilities through domestic platforms, including the TCG Anadolu amphibious assault ship and domestically produced unmanned sea vehicles. Along with the TCG Anadolu, the TCG Istanbul frigate, the TCG Derya replenishment ship and the Murat Reis submarine, Türkiye’s domestic naval defense capabilities are further enhanced by unmanned surface vessels, including Marlin, Sancar, Ulaq and Salvo.
Türkiye is currently working on the National Aircraft Carrier (MUGEM) project, which is expected to enter service in 2032. The carrier will operate unmanned aerial vehicles, air defense systems, command-and-control platforms and other domestically developed defense systems.
The exercise will likely be closely observed by Greece, especially after a warning issued by the Defense Ministry to Athens last Thursday. The ministry invited Greece “to adhere to its obligations under international agreements and avoid activities incompatible with the demilitarized status of the islands” after Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis visited Kastellorizo island, near the Turkish coast, over the weekend.
“The Greek prime minister’s visit to the island of Kastellorizo with his accompanying delegation and his contacts with military personnel stationed there have been closely followed. The deployment of military personnel and warships on Kastellorizo, which was ceded to Greece under the 1947 Paris Peace Treaty on the condition that it maintain a demilitarized status, and the public display of these military assets as part of high-level visits are incompatible with the island’s status and do not contribute to peace and stability,” the ministry said.
“We once again emphasize that efforts to create a de facto situation in violation of Kastellorizo’s demilitarized status, given its extremely close proximity to the Turkish coast, are incompatible with international obligations and will not be accepted by our country. While Türkiye advocates making the Aegean Sea and the Eastern Mediterranean areas of peace and stability and developing relations between Türkiye and Greece on the basis of good-neighborly relations and dialogue, this approach does not mean that we will tolerate the disregard of rights and obligations arising from international treaties or the creation of de facto situations on the ground,” the ministry said.
Mitsotakis said during the visit that the island did not pose a threat to Türkiye, describing it as “a Greek and European outpost.” The visit came weeks after Greece signed a major defense deal with Türkiye’s archfoe Israel and unveiled plans to boost its air defenses.
The ministry also responded to questions about the deployment of a commando brigade to Söke, a western Turkish town opposite the Greek island of Samos, saying it was “an arrangement made in line with the mission and operational requirements of the Turkish Armed Forces” and was approved in June following “evaluations.”
Greek media outlets had already sounded the alarm over the Sea Wolf exercise. Ta Nea newspaper portrayed it as a “military activity at a critical conjuncture, a show of force with political and military messages,” while the Neos Kosmos news website reported it under the headline “Alarm in the Aegean” and noted that Greek warships, submarines and surveillance crews would monitor the movements of the Turkish navy during the drills.
Greece itself joined Egypt for the Medusa-15 naval exercise last week in the Mediterranean Sea, only to be mocked on Turkish social media over the less-than-perfect landing skills of Greek troops on a beach, including some troops stumbling while jumping onto the beach and others falling into the water after losing their balance because of their heavy loads.
Earlier this month, Greek and Israeli navies also held a joint maritime drill in the Mediterranean, with the participation of two Israeli and two Greek vessels.
Türkiye is also on alert over the military activities of Greek Cypriots on the divided island of Cyprus. Like Greece, the Greek Cypriot administration has stepped up its partnership with Israel, Türkiye’s chief enemy, to the chagrin of Ankara and Turkish Cypriots on the island.
Greek Cypriots are expected to showcase the Barak MX air defense system they acquired from Israel for the first time on Oct. 1, during a military parade on the island. Greek Defense Minister Nikos Dendias will also be present at the parade, along with officials from Egypt.
Greek Cypriot, Greek and Egyptian ministers are also scheduled to hold a joint meeting on future joint military drills and training activities in the coming days.
Greek Cypriots are also working on the modernization of an air base in Baf, or Paphos.
Prosecutors in Ankara issued detention warrants on Sunday for 29 suspects and sought the appointment of trustees to 23 companies in an investigation into a criminal gang led by Alihan Kuriş, the leader of the Süleymancılar movement. Since August, 80 suspects, including Kuriş, have been arrested in a far-reaching investigation into the influential movement, which faces a series of charges, including money laundering and fraud.
Investigators are also looking into allegations that Kuriş and his associates sought to influence elections by ostracizing those who did not vote for the political parties they were instructed to support. Statements by three eyewitnesses in the case show that Kuriş and senior figures in the movement instructed followers to vote for the opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) in past elections and barred those who opposed them from entering mosques and other facilities controlled by Süleymancılar.
Prosecutors say that Kuriş and his associates facilitated off-the-books financial transactions and engaged in activities aimed at laundering proceeds believed to have been obtained through criminal activity. Evidence was uncovered indicating that unregistered transfers of money and securities were carried out, consultancy services were provided for the organization’s official and bureaucratic procedures, and intermediaries facilitated the acquisition of movable and immovable assets needed by the organization at below-market prices. Evidence was also found that proceeds believed to have been obtained through criminal activity were concealed as cash within aid shipments sent abroad and transported through logistics companies.
The investigation found that some of the organization’s financial aid transfers abroad were made through online payment systems, while a significant portion was delivered off the books through trusted couriers via logistics companies. It was also determined that certain companies and individuals provided consultancy services to make these transactions, which were carried out in violation of established procedures, appear legally compliant. The investigation also uncovered findings, based on digital materials, witness statements, financial records and other evidence, indicating that the suspects had engaged in organizational and financial activities aimed at influencing electoral processes held in the country.
The Süleymancılar originated as a religious movement named after the 20th-century Islamic scholar Süleyman Hilmi Tunahan, Kuriş’s great-grandfather. Authorities say the investigation is not directed against the religious movement and instead focuses on alleged financial wrongdoing by Kuriş and other figures in the group, which prosecutors have named the “Alihan Kuriş criminal syndicate.”
The opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) seeks to restore its image, tarnished by the arrest of mayors on corruption charges. As promised by reinstated leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, the “cleansing process” will now involve pre-emptive steps to prevent future cases. Starting next year, the party will introduce a “performance monitoring system” for its mayors, which will serve as a benchmark to assess whether they comply with the CHP’s predetermined criteria.
With this move, the mayors’ work both to date and in the period ahead will come under scrutiny. Their performance will be assessed based on how many of the criteria they have met, and at the end of the process, they will, in a sense, be given a “report card.”
The mayors will undergo reviews in a number of areas, including project management, financial management, human resources management and public relations. The flow of funds in municipalities, investments and the allocation of tenders are also expected to be examined comprehensively.
Mayors whose activities are deemed suspicious, who fail to meet the established criteria or are found to have performed poorly will not be nominated in the next election. Throughout the process, the main focus will be on clean politics and financial transparency.
All of the mayors who remain under the CHP umbrella are individuals who were nominated in the last local elections during Özgür Özel’s tenure as party chairperson. The party leadership also plans to hold a meeting of mayors shortly to strengthen central authority and discuss steps to be taken for the coming year.
Meanwhile, the CHP will hold a camp for its lawmakers in Bolu’s Abant district from Sept. 25-27, ahead of the opening of the new parliamentary term. Kılıçdaroğlu will also attend the camp. The meetings will address the new legislative year as well as developments within the party.
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