The administration of the northwestern province of Bursa, one of Türkiye’s largest cities, shifted to the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) amid the arrest of the opposition mayor and a subsequent vote in the municipal council.
Mayor Mustafa Bozbey from main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) was jailed pending trial last week and subsequently suspended from office following a corruption investigation. In such cases, council members hold an internal vote to elect an acting mayor.
While the mayoralty in Bursa had belonged to the CHP, the council is dominated by members of the AKP.
Arguing that the operation was politically motivated and that an elected administration was being pressured, the CHP did not field a candidate in the April 9 council vote in Bursa.
The AKP nominated Şahin Biba for the mayor. CHP and İYİ (Good) Party council members abstained from voting.
Biba failed to secure the required two-thirds majority, 71 votes, in the first two rounds, receiving 61 votes in the first round and 60 in the second. The vote then proceeded to a third round, where a simple majority was sufficient. Biba won 61 votes in the third round and was elected acting mayor.
With the result, control of the Bursa Municipality shifted from the CHP to the AKP.
Tensions flared before the vote, with scuffles reported between CHP and AKP council members. CHP members attempted to enter the council chamber but were blocked, prompting police intervention. Officers also used pepper spray against lawmakers, mayors, council members and supporters marching toward the CHP’s Bursa provincial headquarters.
“Bursa declared its desire for change strongly two years ago. Those who could not accept the public’s decision and the change pursued their own calculations and committed an injustice against Bursa and its people,” the jailed mayor wrote on X via his lawyers.
In the 2023 local elections, Bursa had shifted from AKP to CHP control, with Bozbey winning about 48 percent of the vote.
The case is the latest in a series of investigations targeting CHP mayors over the past year, with several opposition municipal leaders, including Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu, facing arrest or trial.
