Turkey’s ruling party on Thursday won control of Bursa, the country’s fourth-largest city, after its mayor was jailed, in the latest blow to the opposition.
The main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) won control of the northwestern city in 2024, defeating President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP).
But the city’s CHP mayor, Mustafa Bozbey, was arrested last week on charges including leading a criminal organization and corruption.
The interior ministry subsequently removed him from office, prompting Bozbey to denounce what he called “an injustice done to the will of the people of Bursa.”
In a vote held by the city council on Thursday to appoint a new mayor, the CHP declined to field a candidate.
Şahin Biba, the candidate of the AKP, was elected in the third round of voting as the sole candidate.
Bursa is a former capital of the Ottoman Empire.
The CHP has been facing growing pressure since the March arrest last year of İstanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu on allegations of corruption.
İmamoğlu is widely seen as one of the only politicians capable of defeating Erdoğan at the ballot box in elections due before mid-2028.
Over the past year dozens of CHP mayors have been put behind bars.
© Agence France-Presse