İstanbul’s Bayrampaşa district mayor, Hasan Mutlu, was detained on Saturday along with 43 municipal employees on corruption allegations, the İstanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office said, in the latest action in a year-long wave of investigations targeting municipalities run by Turkey’s main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP).
Prosecutors said detention orders were issued for 47 suspects on accusations including embezzlement, extortion, bribery, accepting bribes, and bid rigging. Police searched 72 homes and workplaces as part of the probe, which centers on alleged irregularities in procurement and contract awards at the Bayrampaşa municipality.
CHP officials condemned the operation as politically driven. Burhanettin Bulut, a CHP deputy chairman, called it “not an investigation but an attempt to undermine the will of the people,” pledging to defend the ballot and democratic process. Veli Ağbaba, a CHP lawmaker, said the practice of removing elected mayors via police action “betrays democracy and the vote,” while Ali Mahir Başarır, the party’s deputy group chair, said routine police interventions against elected officials amount to “a declaration of war on the will of the people,” predicting voters would answer at the polls.
The allegations mirror prior probes of opposition-run municipalities that have focused on tenders, procurement and alleged kickbacks. Opposition figures say the pattern amounts to a campaign to displace elected administrations.
The latest move comes after a court removed the CHP’s İstanbul provincial leadership and 196 delegates last week, appointing a caretaker board. Gürsel Tekin, a veteran CHP figure named by the court to head the provincial organization, entered party headquarters on Monday under heavy police escort. Approximately 5,000 officers surrounded the building amid resistance from party members and supporters. Tekin has faced criticism from within the CHP for accepting the role.
Authorities have framed the broader actions as part of an anti-corruption push. The CHP maintains that the investigations are selective and politically motivated.
Separately, an Ankara court is due Monday to rule on the validity of the CHP’s 2023 intra-party congress.
