Turkish Opposition Mayor Joins Erdogan Party Amid Detention Of Dozens Of Mayors

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan/PHOTO via Instagram @rterdogan

JAKARTA - A mayor of Turkey's main opposition party joined the ruling AK Party under President Tayyip Erdogan on Thursday.

This was in the midst of a crackdown on the opposition which resulted in 15 mayors being detained.

Ozlem Cercioglu, the mayor of Aydin in western Turkey since 2009 and previously a member of parliament from the People's Party of the Republic (CHP), has resigned from the CHP.

He resigned on the grounds that there was a difference of opinion with party officials.

"Although we have repeatedly searched for solutions to the problems we face within the CHP, unfortunately we have not been able to reach a solution. I am no longer on the same track as the CHP," he said.

Then on the same day, he joined the AK Party in a ceremony attended by Erdogan with three mayors of his district, who have also left the CHP.

A wave of investigations has been launched in recent months against opposition figures, including Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu, Erdogan's main political rival, on charges of corruption and ties to terrorism.

The CHP denies the allegations and calls them an attempt to eliminate alternative democracy, an allegation the government denies.

CHP leader Ozgur Ozel told reporters, without providing evidence, AKP officials had threatened Cercioglu with legal investigations into his territory and arrests if he did not join the ruling party.

Deputy Chairman of AKP Hayati Yazici said Ozel's accusations were "completely untrue".

"Anyone who violates the law or commits a crime will eventually be tried," he told private television station TV 100.

Speaking at the ceremony, Cercioglu also denied the claims, saying he was not afraid of any investigations.