Widespread corruption and terrorism investigations are causing upheaval in municipalities overseen by the CHP.
The main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) in Turkey is currently facing extensive investigations related to corruption, bribery, and terrorism, particularly focusing on its municipalities. The ousted Istanbul mayor Ekrem Imamoglu is prominently implicated.
Since late 2024, more than 500 people connected to CHP municipalities, including about 15 sitting mayors, have been detained, with over 200 formally arrested amid widespread probes into alleged tender rigging, bribery, and terrorism financing. The Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality under Imamoglu is the most scrutinized; prosecutors accuse a network of senior officials of systematically manipulating public tenders and abusing municipal resources.
Investigations are also probing supposed links between CHP-run district municipalities and terrorist organizations, resulting in arrests of deputy mayors and council members in Istanbul. The crackdown intensified in early 2025 with the arrest of Imamoglu and other mayors, and President Erdogan vowed no leniency, describing the investigations as targeting organized crime within the CHP.
Further allegations have surfaced that a former CHP district mayor in Istanbul coordinated bribery payments funding supportive journalists and media outlets, with millions of Turkish lira reportedly distributed in exchange for favorable coverage.
Moreover, the CHP's parliamentary leader faces investigation for accusing the government of staging bribery cases to seize opposition municipalities, following a bribery scandal in the CHP-run Manavgat municipality involving a deputy mayor accepting a bribe hidden in baklava.
Businessperson Aziz Ihsan Aktas is accused of heading a criminal network that allegedly bribed mayors and senior officials to secure lucrative tenders. Former Izmir Mayor Tunc Soyer and former Sarıyer Mayor Sukru Genc were also arrested.
The sheer scale of the investigations has cast a long shadow over the CHP's municipal governance, raising questions about internal oversight and accountability. As court cases proceed into the autumn, including a major hearing against Beykoz Mayor Alaattin Koseler in September, it remains to be seen how these allegations will unfold.
- The corruption investigations affecting the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) in Turkey are not limited to Istanbul; they have expanded to include district municipalities across Europe, with numerous allegations of connections to terrorist organizations and bribery-funded journalism.
- Politics and general-news outlets in Turkey have been abuzz with the ongoing criminal investigation involving businessman Aziz Ihsan Aktas, accused of bribing mayors and senior officials in various municipalities across Turkey, including Istanbul and Izmir, to secure lucrative tenders.
- The ongoing investigations into the CHP's municipalities in Turkey have not been confined to criminal activities such as tender rigging, bribery, and terrorism financing; they have also extended to the realm of crime and justice, with accusations of politically motivated bribery scandals involving certain mayors and journalists.
