A court in western Turkey has arrested the mayor of a district governed by the country’s main opposition party along with 41 other suspects in a corruption investigation that is part of a broader crackdown on the party.
Görkem Duman, mayor of Buca, a district of İzmir on Turkey’s Aegean coast, was arrested late Friday along with former mayor Erhan Kılıç and former district chairman Çağdaş Kaya of the Republican People’s Party (CHP).
A total of 42 of the 54 suspects brought before a judge were arrested, while 12 were released under judicial supervision, according to the BirGün daily and the state-run Anadolu news agency.
Prosecutors had requested the arrest of 51 suspects and judicial supervision for three others.
The İzmir Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office initially issued detention warrants for 62 people in an investigation targeting the Buca Municipality, its affiliated companies, municipal employees, contractors and company owners.
Police detained 54 suspects in operations carried out in İzmir, Ankara, Erzincan and Çanakkale beginning June 1.
Three suspects were already in jail, four were abroad and police were still searching for two others, according to Anadolu.
Prosecutors allege that municipal officials formed and ran a criminal organization by using their political authority and positions at the municipality.
The allegations include accepting bribes from contractors, approving additional floors and apartments in exchange for payments and overlooking zoning violations.
Investigators also allege that the suspects demanded bribes during building permit and occupancy permit procedures.
The case includes accusations that municipal credit cards, bank accounts and vehicles were used for personal expenses.
Authorities also allege that people who did not report for work received salaries and bonuses from the municipality.
The investigation further concerns alleged irregularities in direct purchases and public tenders.
Duman was elected mayor of Buca in the March 2024 local elections as a candidate of the CHP.
Buca is one of İzmir’s largest districts and has long been governed by the CHP, which draws much of its support from Turkey’s major cities, secular voters and the Aegean coast.
The arrest is the latest in a series of investigations targeting municipalities controlled by the CHP since the party defeated President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) nationwide in the 2024 local elections.
The campaign began with the arrest of the CHP mayor of İstanbul’s Esenyurt district in October 2024 and later expanded to the İstanbul Metropolitan Municipality and municipalities in other provinces.
İstanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu, Erdoğan’s strongest political rival, has been jailed since March 2025 in a corruption case that he and the CHP describe as politically motivated.
More than 20 mayors elected from the CHP have been jailed during the crackdown.