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A mayor who recently switched from Türkiye’s main opposition party to the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) has accused her former colleagues of blackmail and threats over municipal decisions.
Yasemin Fazlaca, the mayor of Altınova in Yalova province, told Sabah’s Günaydın supplement that members of the Republican People’s Party (CHP) pressured her to approve illegal zoning and tender deals and attempted to discredit her publicly when she refused.
Fazlaca said the conflict began shortly after her election, when CHP council members opposed her choice for deputy mayor.
“I faced threats like, ‘I won’t participate in any organizations or approve any council agenda items,’ unless I dismissed him,” she said.
Although she replaced the deputy mayor, tensions escalated as some council members reportedly tried to lock her out of the municipal council and exert further pressure.
According to Fazlaca, one council member staged a video implying she had been involved in financial wrongdoing, although she stated that she was not in the video and had no knowledge of the money involved.
“They started threatening me over this video,” she said. “I went to the prosecutor and explained that a council member had set up a conspiracy against me. I was being slandered over money I had nothing to do with.”
Fazlaca said the pressure included demands to hire relatives and associates of council members, as well as to approve zoning changes and tenders that she considered illegal. She refused to comply, describing the situation as a campaign to remove her from office and install someone favored by the CHP in Parliament.
The mayor also said she had to leave her office under police protection after receiving threats, and that the CHP leadership was aware of the situation but did not intervene. She submitted her resignation before being expelled by the party.
Fazlaca said her decision to join the AK Party was motivated by a belief that she could govern more effectively.
“In municipal governance, the organization is the mayor’s backbone,” she said. “Some CHP council members were disconnected from the public. The public conveys their concerns to AK Party members and I believe I can now undertake much better projects and lead a more accessible municipality here.”
She also highlighted challenges faced by female politicians.
“The biggest problem I experienced in the CHP was their lack of support and abandonment of women,” Fazlaca said.
She expressed solidarity with the mayor of western Aydın province, Özlem Çerçioğlu, who also switched from the CHP to the AK Party, saying both faced orchestrated smear campaigns.
“We were subjected to insults by people who had never even been to Altınova. The CHP tries to show the public that they support women, but in practice, female politicians are often used as padding to create an image,” she said.
Fazlaca dismissed allegations of misconduct leveled against her after joining the AK Party. “Neither I nor Ms. Çerçioğlu had any shady dealings. We run municipalities with impeccable integrity,” she said.
Çerçioğlu faced ostracism from her party after opposing what she described as corrupt zoning changes in Aydın’s district, Kuşadası, including converting green spaces into residential areas worth billions of liras. She was targeted with social media attacks and public defamation by CHP officials, though both the prosecutor’s office and the Court of Accounts found no wrongdoing on her part.
Looking ahead, Fazlaca warned of broader challenges for the CHP. “The party pretends to support mayors just to look good, but it never does,” she said. “If the CHP continues to disavow mayors, I believe the collapse will be rapid.”
Fazlaca’s departure adds to a growing list of CHP officials who have switched parties, reflecting internal disputes and dissatisfaction with party oversight.
Her remarks also come as the CHP faces mounting scrutiny over corruption allegations in municipalities it controls, mainly in Istanbul. Dozens, including the ousted mayor of Istanbul, Ekrem Imamoğlu, have been arrested in investigations on a criminal organization that profited from rigged tenders and bribery schemes.
