Main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) has referred detained Uşak Mayor Özkan Yalım to its high disciplinary board with a request for expulsion, a party spokesperson said on April 5.
Zeynel Emre announced that Yalım, who has been suspended from office following his arrest, will face the party’s disciplinary board with a demand for definitive expulsion.
Yalım was detained on March 27 and later arrested along with eight others as part of an investigation into allegations of bribery, extortion and bid rigging. The Interior Ministry subsequently removed him from his post as mayor.
The CHP had earlier suspended Yalım’s party membership and launched an internal disciplinary process after footage emerged in the media showing him with a woman during a police operation at a hotel room in Ankara.
Speaking on April 5 in Istanbul, Emre said Yalım had been heard while in prison and that all records and documents related to the case were reviewed and submitted to the party’s general secretariat.
“There has been no change in the decision of the central executive board, and it has been decided to refer Özkan Yalım to the high disciplinary board with a request for expulsion as a precautionary measure,” Emre said.
The case was first discussed at a March 30 meeting of the CHP’s top board chaired by party leader Özgür Özel. Officials assigned two legal experts to examine the case and decided to initiate disciplinary proceedings after hearing Yalım’s defense.
Emre said the party assessed the matter from both legal and ethical perspectives, separating the criminal allegations from concerns over conduct.
The leaked footage and the circumstances of Yalım’s detention sparked debate within the CHP, with most condemning the images as a violation of privacy and an attempt at character assassination.
Meanwhile, the mayor of the western city of Aydın's Köşk district, Nuri Güler, resigned from the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) after being referred for expulsion following allegations of an unethical relationship.
