Politics
Türkiye’s CHP clings to mayors while New Party courts Alevis
The opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) is preoccupied with retaining its ranks, while the splinter New Party (YP) is working to broaden its voter base.
The YP managed to attract a majority of CHP lawmakers after its chair, Özgür Özel, was replaced by his predecessor, Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, in May. However, the CHP’s mayors are apparently unwilling to switch their allegiance to Özel, who often boasts that he gave the party an unprecedented boost in the 2024 municipal elections.
Several mayors remain undecided, while others were quick to side with Özel. The YP claims that at least 200 mayors are ready to join the party, but that has not been the case in the two weeks since it was founded. So far, the mayors of 157 municipalities have joined the YP, although most represent small district municipalities, with the exceptions of the Denizli Metropolitan Municipality and the Manisa Metropolitan Municipality, the latter in Özel’s hometown. Cemil Tugay, the mayor of the CHP stronghold of İzmir, Türkiye’s third-largest city, quit the party after Kılıçdaroğlu was reinstated but has remained independent since then. Media reports claim that he may join the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party). According to a report by the Sabah newspaper on Monday, the CHP will soon convene a meeting of its mayors to emphasize party unity.
Meanwhile, Özgür Özel is seeking to broaden his appeal among potential voters. After a video that the YP said had been “taken by a fan” surfaced online showing Özel performing the Muslim ablution ritual, he was later seen attending an event with members of the Alevi community. He attended a groundbreaking ceremony for a new cemevi, an Alevi house of worship, in the capital, Ankara, on Sunday.
“I am here to receive your blessing as the chair of the YP,” he told a group of Alevi citizens at the ceremony.
“The people who have governed this country owe a debt to the Alevi community. The community has suffered greatly in this country, but its members stood firmly with Atatürk during the War of Independence,” he said, referring to Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the founder of the Republic of Türkiye and of the CHP.
Kılıçdaroğlu, who is of Alevi background, highlighted his religious identity during the run-up to the 2023 presidential election, a move that critics viewed as an insincere display of faith intended to bolster his campaign.
Erdal Beşikçioğlu, the Republican People’s Party (CHP) mayor of Ankara’s Etimesgut district, was among 40 suspects remanded in custody on Monday as part of a corruption investigation involving the municipality.
The actor-turned-mayor was detained last Thursday along with 55 other suspects, most of whom were municipal employees.
The investigation targeting the mayor and the other suspects stems from allegations of irregularities in municipal operations, forgery of official documents, and the payment of bribes to municipal officials in connection with construction permits.
Beşikçioğlu denied the corruption allegations during a statement to prosecutors that lasted about four hours. When questioned about his reported monthly income of TL 2.5 million, he said that his earnings came from ticket revenues generated by a theater he owns, his salary as mayor, and royalty payments from his acting work. However, according to security sources cited by Turkish media outlets, his bank transactions did not correspond with his declared monthly income. The financial analysis included in the investigation file reportedly identified discrepancies and suspicious transfers into his bank accounts.
He also said he was unaware of the controversial tender processes, claiming that he had no duty or authority regarding tenders and that his role was limited to general supervision.
He claimed that he became aware of the alleged irregularities only after reports were issued by the Court of Accounts, which is responsible for auditing municipalities.
According to reports included in the investigation file, several suspects were allegedly involved in irregularities in the procurement of goods for the municipality’s Directorate of Social Assistance Affairs. An expert witness report alleged that the municipality paid for a large quantity of materials, ranging from disposable gowns to disinfectants, even though they were never delivered.
The report compared market prices with the invoices submitted to the municipality and claimed that the products had been purchased at prices approximately 10 to 15 times higher than prevailing market rates, resulting in an alleged public loss of more than TL 812,000.
The report further alleged that a fraudulent market research authorization document had been created and that the verification code and address belonging to an unrelated service procurement had been reused in connection with the personal care supplies purchase. It also alleged that goods that had never been delivered were accepted as though they had been received, that signatures on certain documents differed from one another, and that inventory transaction records had been prepared contrary to the facts.
According to data from the Financial Crimes Investigation Board (MASAK) contained in the investigation file, part of the money transferred by the municipality to a contractor’s account was subsequently transferred to the contractor’s wife, then to municipal employee Rıza Emrah Altınok, and finally to another municipal employee, Serkan Kozan. Investigators said the alleged scheme resembled corruption methods uncovered in investigations into other municipalities, where contractors were awarded tenders in exchange for bribes.
The investigation file also includes allegations that the municipal company Etimkent suffered losses as a result of duplicate payments.
According to the report, in connection with a bread procurement and distribution contract, the company made several cash payments to an employee in 2025. The report alleges that the money was never deposited into municipal accounts, raising suspicions of financial misconduct.
One of the complainants identified in the case alleged that he was asked to pay bribes in order to obtain a building permit. The complainant, identified by the initials F.K., told investigators that he sought permits for a villa development in the district in 2024.
“After applying to the municipality for the permit, Planning Director Serpil Zengin called me on my mobile phone and invited me to the municipality. During our private meeting in her office, she explicitly requested a bribe of between TL 5 million and TL 6 million in exchange for issuing the permit. I objected and, after an argument, left her office. Shortly afterward, Deputy Mayor Mutlu Kerimoğlu contacted me via WhatsApp. I declined the WhatsApp call and instead called him on his regular mobile number. He invited me to his office and openly demanded TL 4 million as a bribe for the permit,” he told investigators.
CHP mayors have been the subject of corruption investigations in recent years. Investigators have alleged that some mayors and other municipal officials accepted bribes from companies seeking to do business with municipalities or from contractors seeking building permits that otherwise would not have been approved. Last Wednesday, Sinem Dedetaş, the CHP mayor of Istanbul’s Üsküdar district, was detained on similar charges along with several municipal employees. She was subsequently arrested.
Fake IDs, constant changes of appearance and lying low bought about a decade of freedom for Burkay Karatepe, one of the would-be assassins of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan for the Gülenist Terror Group (FETÖ). This came to an end earlier this week when authorities announced on Friday that Karatepe, the only fugitive member of a team of assassins who escaped capture after the 2016 coup attempt by FETÖ was foiled, was apprehended in Afyonkarahisar, close to his hometown of Emirdağ.
Karatepe, a captain in the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) when the coup attempt unfolded, joined other FETÖ infiltrators in the military in a bid to assassinate Erdoğan during the coup attempt and raided the hotel in southwestern Türkiye’s Marmaris where Erdoğan was vacationing at the time. Erdoğan narrowly escaped the attempt and flew to Istanbul, where he mobilized crowds to stand against the putschists, while two police officers guarding him were gunned down by the assassins. Resistance by anti-putschist security officers forced Karatepe and the others to abandon their plans and flee.
Other members of his team were caught within days while hiding in the countryside, while Karatepe almost vanished into thin air. A fellow would-be assassin claimed that he ditched his military fatigues, donned shorts and slippers, and sought to blend in with tourists in Marmaris. Nothing was heard from Karatepe after that, though authorities questioned his family about his possible whereabouts, and it was suspected that he might have fled to nearby Greek islands, as other members of the terrorist group had done.
Media reports on Sunday said that Karatepe kept a low profile while working as a junk collector and, at times, at construction sites. Indeed, it was a fellow construction worker who reportedly led to his capture. The man questioned by police claimed he did not know Karatepe’s true identity and knew him only as “Salih,” but still agreed to lend his cellphone to him, investigators later found.
Security sources said it was the facial recognition systems of the National Intelligence Organization (MIT) that helped authorities pinpoint Karatepe’s location. When the facial recognition system indicated a 77% match with a man captured on camera near a park in central Afyonkarahisar on March 14, security forces launched a surveillance operation. In the following months, the same man was captured on security cameras across the city another 14 times, mostly in different outfits, sometimes with or without a beard, and usually covering his head with caps and berets.
Eventually, MIT and police counterterrorism units launched an operation to capture him in the derelict building where he was hiding. Interior Minister Mustafa Çiftçi said on Sunday that Karatepe was drunk at the time of his capture and that authorities also discovered a stash of drugs in the building. He was the only resident of the building, which had no electricity or running water. Security forces, however, found a sizeable stash of cash and gold in his possession and are now tracing their origins and investigating who might have funded his escape and years in hiding.
Karatepe had gold nuggets worth more than TL 6 million, and more than $33,000 and 2,620 euros in his possession, along with a laptop, three cellphones and a fake ID.
Karatepe was on the Interior Ministry’s “red list” of most-wanted terror suspects.
He was transferred to the province of Muğla, where Marmaris is located, for legal proceedings. He will likely face aggravated life imprisonment for the assassination attempt alone, along with additional sentences for crimes such as attempting to overthrow the government, forgery of official documents and possession of drugs.
Security sources said Karatepe was also caught on camera while attending a meeting at a hotel in Afyonkarahisar and had started moving from one residence to another in recent months, apparently suspecting that he was under surveillance.
The Republican People’s Party (CHP), which lost its status as the main opposition party to its former Chair Özgür Özel’s New Party (YP), is on alert against a possible attempt by Özel to regain influence within the party.
Ahead of the party congress process, which will begin in September, the CHP aims to weed out Özel’s loyalists within its ranks.
Özel sought to reclaim control of the party after a court ruled in May that his predecessor, Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, should be reinstated as CHP chair, citing allegations of vote-buying in Özel’s favor during a 2023 intra-party election. As legal proceedings challenging Kılıçdaroğlu’s reinstatement continued, Özel decided to establish the YP last month. By transferring a large number of lawmakers from the CHP, the YP cemented its position in Parliament as the main opposition party. However, the CHP fears that Özel may seek to recruit more members or exercise influence over the party through his loyalists who remain within its ranks.
The Kılıçdaroğlu administration is bracing for the congress by making new appointments and expulsions aimed at weakening Özel’s influence in Türkiye’s oldest political party. To that end, it plans to appoint new chairs to local party branches left vacant after pro-Özel officials were dismissed. The administration also plans to swiftly expel former members of the party assembly who remain loyal to Özel but have so far refrained from leaving the CHP.
Party sources say Özel left behind “Trojan horses” within the party – a group of influential figures who have not yet openly declared where their loyalties lie.
Since returning to office, Kılıçdaroğlu has pledged to “cleanse” the CHP of corruption and has focused on those who opposed his reinstatement and sided with Özel. Influential figures and provincial chairs aligned with Özel have been removed in quick succession, and Kılıçdaroğlu is expected to appoint eight more provincial chairs this week ahead of a meeting with party chairs from all 81 provinces.
The meeting is expected to serve as a demonstration of the CHP’s “unity,” party sources said.
The leader of Iraq’s Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) Nechirvan Barzani met Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa on Monday, marking the first such visit by a KRG leader to post-Assad Syria. Sources told Agence France-Presse (AFP) that the talks focused on the integration agreement between Damascus and the YPG, the Syrian wing of the PKK terrorist group, which has operated a de facto autonomous enclave in Syria.
Syrian state news agency SANA said al-Sharaa received Barzani at the Presidential Palace in Damascus.
The YPG and the security forces of Syria’s new administration clashed last January after the terrorist group reneged on an agreement to integrate into Syria’s new state institutions. The group later reached a new agreement with Damascus following further advances by Syrian security forces. Amid the clashes, Barzani received Ferhat Abdi Şahin, the leader of the YPG, in the KRG regional capital of Irbil during a U.S.-backed meeting.
Al-Sharaa’s office said he and Barzani discussed “strengthening cooperation and coordination, especially in the economic sphere … in a way that contributes to supporting security and stability.”
The Syrian president and Barzani first met on April 11, 2025, on the sidelines of the Antalya Diplomacy Forum in Türkiye. They met again on April 17, 2026, during the fifth edition of the Antalya Diplomacy Forum.
A Syrian official, speaking to AFP on condition of anonymity, said the two leaders would discuss the January agreement and “procedures for integrating” the YPG into the state. A Syrian diplomatic source, also speaking on condition of anonymity, told AFP that the one-day visit would mainly focus on “following up on the agreement between the state and the YPG.” Barzani may also meet Şahin, the diplomatic source added.
The January fighting and the subsequent agreement shattered the YPG’s aspirations for autonomy across swathes of northern and northeastern Syria that it had controlled for years during the country’s civil war.
Damascus and the YPG have taken several steps since the agreement, including the deployment of government forces to the cities of Hasakeh and Qamishli and the transfer of the management of Qamishli Airport and key oil fields to the state.
Senior YPG member Sipan Hamo was appointed regional assistant defense minister.
However, differences between the two sides have delayed the integration of several YPG units into the Syrian army.
The agreement also provided for the return of displaced Syrian Kurds to their areas of origin, although some are still waiting to return. Barzani welcomed the agreement at the time and expressed hope that it would pave the way for “the protection of the rights of the Kurds … in the forthcoming constitution.”
The U.S.-Iran war and its repercussions in the wider region were the main topic of a phone call between Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan and his Kuwaiti counterpart Jarrah Jaber Al Ahmad Al Sabah on Monday.
No further details regarding the phone call were provided, according to the diplomatic sources.
On Saturday, Kuwait said its army destroyed Iranian drones after attacks targeted a government facility, as well as civilian vehicles, on Bubiyan Island, causing material damage but no casualties. Defense Ministry spokesman Saud Al Atwan said the armed forces had detected “hostile drones” in Kuwaiti airspace since early Saturday and “destroyed them.”
He said the “Iranian aggression” targeted several vital installations, including a government facility in northern Kuwait and vehicles belonging to a civilian company on the island. Falling debris caused material damage, but no injuries were reported, Al Atwan added.
Regional tensions have escalated since February, when the U.S. and Israel launched a joint offensive against Iran and Tehran responded with missile and drone strikes targeting Gulf countries hosting US military assets.
Pakistani government sources told Anadolu on Monday that “no date or venue” has yet been finalized for the resumption of long-stalled direct talks between the U.S. and Iran aimed at ending their monthslong war.
U.S. President Donald Trump said earlier that new negotiations with Tehran would begin Monday afternoon after he decided to delay strikes on Iran, while Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baqaei said Monday that Tehran was not engaged in negotiations with Washington.
The divided island of Cyprus is once again under the spotlight following a landmark visit by U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres. The visit signaled renewed momentum toward resolving the decades-old Cyprus issue, but Ankara appears to be remaining vigilant against any potential threats.
Defense Minister Yaşar Güler underlined that the military readiness status of the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) is being updated in response to developments on the island of Cyprus. He was responding to a question from an opposition lawmaker regarding NATO’s new security architecture and how Türkiye would respond to growing cooperation among the United States, Israel, Greece and the Greek Cypriot administration in the Eastern Mediterranean.
In his written response, Güler emphasized that Türkiye is closely analyzing developments on the island and in the wider region, including Israel’s activities in areas controlled by the Greek Cypriot administration, as well as their potential implications. He noted that the necessary military and political measures continue to be taken against all possible threats.
“In this context, while taking care to preserve the sensitive balance on the island, our military readiness is being meticulously updated to ensure the security of Türkiye and the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC),” he stated.
Türkiye is a guarantor state for the TRNC, while Greece and the United Kingdom also serve as guarantor powers in efforts to resolve the Cyprus issue. Turkish troops are stationed on the island, which is divided by a U.N. buffer zone, to prevent a repeat of hostilities between Turkish and Greek Cypriots.
In 1974, Türkiye launched the Cyprus Peace Operation to protect Turkish Cypriots from escalating attacks by Greek Cypriot groups and has remained a steadfast supporter of the TRNC, which is not internationally recognized, unlike the Greek Cypriot administration. Following his visit, Guterres announced that the relevant parties were willing to hold new talks on the issue with the participation of the guarantor states, although no concrete plan or breakthrough is expected in the near future.
In addition to its military presence, Türkiye supports the TRNC in protecting its national interests in the Eastern Mediterranean, including safeguarding its maritime boundaries and rights to offshore hydrocarbon resources. For this purpose, it recently launched a monitoring station on the island to help detect violations of maritime boundaries.
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on Wednesday said Ankara would continue supporting Turkish Cypriots and announced new infrastructure projects for the TRNC.
“No initiative that ignores the sovereign equality, rights and legitimate interests of Turkish Cypriots in the Eastern Mediterranean can succeed,” Erdoğan said after chairing a Cabinet meeting.
Recalling events marking the 52nd anniversary of the 1974 Cyprus Peace Operation on July 20, Erdoğan described the operation as “a historic turning point” that secured the existence, freedom and security of Turkish Cypriots.
He said Türkiye, acting under its rights and responsibilities as a guarantor power under international agreements, had ended the suffering of Turkish Cypriots and “helped establish peace and stability on the island.”
He said the Cyprus issue extends beyond a technical power-sharing dispute between two communities and centers on the recognition of the Turkish Cypriots’ sovereign equality and equal international status.
“We are closely monitoring every step taken by those seeking to make Cyprus part of new military alignments and geopolitical calculations,” he said.
Erdoğan also welcomed Guterres’ recent visit to the island, the first by a U.N. chief in 16 years, saying Türkiye has consistently supported his peace efforts and will remain in close consultation with him.
He added that proposals seeking to reduce Turkish Cypriots to minority status had repeatedly failed and that only a fair, lasting and sustainable settlement could ensure lasting calm on the island.
Reiterating Ankara’s longstanding support for Turkish Cypriots, Erdoğan said: “Türkiye will never abandon its Turkish Cypriot brothers and sisters and will never allow past suffering to be repeated, whatever the cost.”
He said Türkiye would continue major infrastructure investments on the island.
The president stated that Ankara was strengthening cooperation to help the TRNC become a regional leader in tourism, higher education, technology and digital transformation, while promoting development across all sectors and making the Eastern Mediterranean a center of stability and prosperity.
“As we solved the Turkish Cypriots’ water needs in the past, we will continue implementing various projects, especially a subsea natural gas pipeline,” Erdoğan added.
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