Four council members attend a ceremony at the AKP’s Üsküdar district headquarters on Sept 4.
Four council members from Istanbul’s Üsküdar Municipality have defected from the opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) to the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), reshaping the balance of power in Üsküdar ahead of a key vote to elect the district’s acting mayor.
Ahmet Başbaydar, Ayhan Aydın, Hüseyin Kazan and Tahsin Usta announced their resignation from the CHP and formally joined the AKP at a ceremony held on Sept. 4 at the party’s Üsküdar district headquarters.
The defections leave the Üsküdar Municipal Council with 23 CHP members and 21 members representing the People’s Alliance, which comprises the AKP and its ally the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP).
Speaking for the four defectors, Usta rejected claims that the council members had been pressured, threatened or offered incentives to change parties.
The defections came just one day before the council is due to convene to elect a new acting mayor, following a legal challenge to the previous vote.
Üsküdar Mayor Sinem Dedetaş was arrested on July 31 as part of an investigation into alleged offenses including bribery.
She was later suspended from her post by the Interior Ministry.
The council elected CHP member Sibel Tan Çetinkaya as acting mayor on Aug. 5. However, the decision was subsequently challenged in court, which suspended its implementation.
The Istanbul Governor’s Office said the council would meet again at 10 a.m. on Sept. 5 to elect a new acting mayor.
