Republican People’s Party (CHP) has been jolted by the resignation of Mesut Özarslan, the mayor of Keçiören, after a public row with party leader Özgür Özel spilled into competing allegations of threats, insults and political betrayal. Ankara’s largest district municipalities, Keçiören was a symbolic win for the CHP in the March 31, 2024 local elections, when Özarslan secured about 48 percent of the vote and ended decades of control by rival parties.
Özarslan announced late Sunday, February 8, 2026 that he was leaving the CHP, saying Özel had sent him WhatsApp messages on the night of February 7 containing “insults, threats and slander” that he described as incompatible with political civility and public responsibility. In his statement, he said his objection was not to CHP voters or the party’s institutional identity, but to what he called an increasingly abrasive style of party management.
The CHP leader rejected the most serious elements of the accusation. Speaking to Halk TV journalist İsmail Saymaz, Özel said Özarslan was “lying” about claims that his family had been insulted, while acknowledging that his own messages were “harsh” and written in anger. He argued that political confrontations can involve strong language but insisted he did not direct profanity at the mayor’s parents or use language attacking what Özarslan described as “national and moral values.”
On Monday, February 9, Özarslan escalated the dispute by filing a criminal complaint with the Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office, alleging threats and insults. The content of the messages has not been independently verified publicly, and reporting has largely relied on the two men’s competing accounts.
Özel, for his part, framed the resignation as a pre-planned break rather than an impulsive reaction. He said he had previously defended Özarslan when corruption allegations circulated and now felt betrayed by the mayor’s decision to depart. Özel also claimed the move had been anticipated inside the party, saying CHP lawmaker Adnan Beker had warned him days earlier that Özarslan would soon receive an Justice and Development Party (AKP) “badge” — a highly visible symbol used when defectors formally join the governing party.
Fueling the defection narrative are reports that Özarslan had faced internal criticism over contacts with the central government. Pro-government media highlighted his meeting with Murat Kurum and said the backlash inside CHP intensified afterwards, while Özarslan argued it was normal for a district mayor to engage ministries to solve municipal problems.
After resigning, Özarslan signaled he was open to joining either the AKP or its nationalist ally, the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), saying neither was “distant” to him — language widely interpreted as leaving the door open for a switch. He also leaned on identity-based rhetoric, describing himself as conservative-nationalist by background and lamenting that a party founded by Mustafa Kemal Atatürk had “fallen into” a public spectacle over obscene language accusations.
The resignation also threatened to widen into a local organizational rupture. According to reporting, multiple Keçiören municipal council members announced they were also leaving the CHP following Özarslan’s departure, adding to opposition concerns that defections can quickly translate into weakened municipal governance and internal bargaining power.
The episode has revived a broader debate about political switching in Turkey since the opposition’s strong showing in 2024 local elections. Opposition parties have complained that post-election transfers — particularly of mayors — undermine voter mandates, while defectors often justify their moves as a response to party infighting or a need to work more effectively with Ankara’s central institutions.
The AKP has visibly showcased such transfers in badge-pinning ceremonies. In August 2025, nine opposition mayors joined the ruling party during an anniversary event, prompting opposition figures to argue the switches were linked to inspections, investigations, or administrative pressure on municipalities run by rival parties. More recently, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan personally welcomed four opposition mayors into the AKP in late January 2026, again highlighting how defections have become a recurring instrument in Turkey’s hard-edged municipal politics.
Whether Özarslan ultimately joins the AKP, the MHP, or remains independent, the confrontation has already delivered a political cost to the CHP: it spotlights fragility in party discipline at a moment when local administrations are a key pillar of opposition influence — and when the governing bloc appears eager to convert individual municipal victories into longer-term leverage through high-profile defections and public realignment rituals.
