Ankara mayor quits CHP, says to remain independent

ANKARA

Ankara Mayor Mansur Yavaş has announced his resignation from the Republican People’s Party (CHP), stressing that he will continue his political career as an independent politician.

“Due to certain statements made today, I am resigning from my membership in the Republican People’s Party and declaring that I will continue my political journey independently,” Yavaş said in a written statement shared on his social media account on Sept. 23.

Yavaş referred to a statement by CHP spokesperson Müslim Sarı, who criticized the mayor for his continued relationship with main opposition New Party leader Özgür Özel.

Özel had resigned from the CHP and formed the New Party in August after he was expelled from the party leadership through a court decision that reinstated Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu as chairman.

Hundreds of mayors and 90 lawmakers also resigned from the CHP and joined the New Party.

Yavaş’s resignation followed his surprise meeting with President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in recent weeks. Yavaş said he informed both Kılıçdaroğlu and Özel before his appointment with the president.

The CHP spokesperson slammed Yavaş for informing Özel about his political activities.

Yavaş’s statement said he will “continue to serve the entire people of Ankara, regardless of their political leaning, as an independent politician.”

In a recent statement, Özel said that Ankara Mayor Yavaş is a “very important option” for presidential candidate of the main opposition party.

Yavaş, in his statement, argued that the political crackdown on the opposition since the detention and arrest of Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu in March 2025 “has come to a very disturbing state and he would never accept discrediting the political will.”

“[Political] positions are temporary. Political conditions may change. But loyalty to the trust the nation has given you does not change. Just as I have protected this trust until today, I will continue to protect it in the same way from now on,” he said.