Izmir's Mayor Changes Political Teams

Izmir Mayor Cemil Tugay joined Turkey's ruling party, President Erdogan's AKP, on Oct. 7, 2026, after winning as the centre-left CHP's candidate in March 2024. Erdogan announced it in Ankara with a party pin. Izmir, a city of 4.5 million run by social democrats, the centre-left, since 1999, voted 49% for Tugay to 37% for AKP.