Fresh arrests target Turkey's opposition-run municipalities

ISTANBUL (AFP) — The Turkish government is tightening its grip on the opposition, with fresh arrests on Friday targeting elected officials from the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) while it faces a deepening leadership crisis.

The arrests, along with a court-appointed intervention in Turkey’s oldest political party, have raised serious concerns about the state of democracy and the rule of law — criticisms echoed in this week’s European Parliament report.

Authorities carried out operations targeting CHP-run municipalities in Istanbul’s islands district and in southern Turkey over a range of allegations, including corruption and fraud.

Police conducted simultaneous raids in four cities in morning hours, detaining 37 of 47 suspects named in arrest warrants, the Istanbul prosecutor’s office said in a statement obtained by AFP.

Among those detained was Adalar (islands) Mayor Ali Ercan Akpolat.

The suspects are accused of bribery, embezzlement, forgery of official documents, forming and leading a criminal organization and abuse of office, according to the statement.

A separate operation targeted the municipality of Silifke in the southern coastal province of Mersin.

Turkish media reported that several people, including the mayor, were detained as part of an investigation into allegations of bribery, embezzlement, bid-rigging and abuse of office.

The detentions follow a series of operations over the past week against CHP municipalities, including in Istanbul’s Beylikduzu and Silivri districts, as well as in the Seferihisar district in the western city of Izmir.

The CHP has accused authorities of staging politically motivated operations aimed at weakening the opposition after it defeated President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s ruling AKP in the 2024 local elections.

‘Weaponized judiciary’

A report approved by the European Parliament on Wednesday urged Turkey to address deficiencies in the rule of law.

It also called for possible sanctions against Justice Minister Akin Gurlek, who led high-profile cases against opposition figures during his tenure as Istanbul chief prosecutor.

Turkey’s foreign ministry hit back at what it described as “baseless accusations” in the report.

Hundreds of CHP officials in municipalities nationwide have been arrested as part of ongoing investigations into alleged corruption, including Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu.

Imamoglu has long been seen as the only Turkish politician capable of challenging Erdogan at the ballot box.

The CHP selected him as its candidate for the 2028 presidential race on the same day he was jailed.

In his absence, party leader Ozgur Ozel has become the face of the opposition.

However, an Ankara court in May annulled the CHP’s 2023 leadership election over alleged vote buying and reinstated former chairman Kemal Kilicdaroglu.

The ruling sparked protests from the CHP, which has been rising in the polls at the expense of Erdogan, with the party’s headquarters stormed by the police in the wake of the decision.

The European Parliament’s Turkey rapporteur Nacho Sanchez Amor, accused Turkey of moving rapidly towards “a fully authoritarian model,” singling out the move against the CHP’s “legitimate leadership.”

“The recent case targeting the main opposition party, CHP, and its legitimate leadership is the latest example of a broader erosion of democratic pluralism and the rule of law, highlighting the role of a judiciary which is weaponized for political purposes,” he said.

Ozel, a prominent critic of Erdogan who was removed as party leader under the court ruling, has called for an extraordinary congress, saying the party cannot be governed under what he described as an imposed leadership.

More than 800 CHP delegates this week submitted petitions calling for that congress to elect a party leader.

But political observers say Kilicdaroglu, who had faced criticism for a string of electoral defeats, is all but certain to attempt to stall the congress and any challenge to his leadership.

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By FULYA OZERKAN Agence France-Presse