Key Facts at a Glance

• President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's ruling AKP has taken control of the Üsküdar district council in Istanbul after a disputed vote for deputy mayor.
• The AKP candidate defeated a rival backed jointly by the main opposition Republican People's Party, or CHP, and the newly formed Yeni Parti, or New Party.
• The council vote was re-run after the AKP contested the initial count.
• Two opposition council members were arrested shortly before the revote, and four council members defected to the AKP beforehand, according to local media reports.
• Üsküdar's elected mayor, Sinem Dedetaş of the CHP, was jailed and suspended from office in July.
• Dedetaş became the district's first female mayor in 2024, winning about 50 percent of the vote in a conservative district that is also home to Erdoğan's private residence.
• The CHP and Yeni Parti had pledged to cooperate to block an AKP victory in the council vote.
• Arrests of opposition officials began in late 2024 after the CHP outpolled the AKP nationally for the first time.
• Critics describe the detentions as a campaign to weaken political rivals, while the government points to judicial independence.

Disputed Vote Delivers Üsküdar to AKP

The political balance in Istanbul shifted again this week after a contentious council vote in Üsküdar handed control of the district to President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's ruling AKP. The vote for deputy mayor, carried out under heavy scrutiny and broadcast live from city hall, ended with the AKP's candidate defeating a rival backed jointly by the Republican People's Party, or CHP, and the newly established Yeni Parti, or New Party.

The result came weeks after Üsküdar's elected mayor, Sinem Dedetaş, was arrested and suspended from office. Dedetaş, a CHP politician, had made history in 2024 as the district's first female mayor, winning roughly half the vote in a conservative area that is also home to Erdoğan's private residence. Her removal from office and the subsequent council vote have become the latest flashpoint in Turkey's increasingly polarized political and legal environment.

The council vote was not a straightforward affair. The AKP candidate contested the initial count, forcing a re-run. Shortly before the revote, two opposition council members were arrested. Four other council members also defected to the AKP beforehand, according to local media reports. Those developments dramatically altered the arithmetic of the council, undermining the opposition's ability to hold the district.

Sinem Dedetaş: Historic Mayor, Abrupt Detention

Sinem Dedetaş's rise in Üsküdar was widely seen as a significant opposition breakthrough. In the 2024 local elections, she secured about 50 percent of the vote, defeating the AKP in a district long considered a conservative stronghold. Her victory made her the first woman to lead Üsküdar, a historic district on Istanbul's Asian side known for its ferry terminals, historic mosques, and residential neighborhoods.

Her tenure was cut short in July when she was detained during a raid. State media reported that the detention was part of an investigation into allegations of bribery, abuse of office, and organized crime. She was later arrested and suspended from office. The charges have not been finally adjudicated, and the case remains before the courts. The government has consistently stated that such investigations are matters for the independent judiciary.

Dedetaş's arrest was not an isolated event. It followed a broader pattern of legal actions against opposition politicians after the 2024 local elections. In those elections, the CHP outpolled the AKP nationally for the first time in more than two decades. The result was a major psychological and political blow to Erdoğan's party, which had dominated Turkish politics for years. Since then, arrests of opposition officials have multiplied, drawing criticism from international observers and domestic rights groups.

Opposition Alliance and Defections

The CHP and Yeni Parti had pledged to cooperate in Üsküdar to block the AKP from taking the council. Yeni Parti was founded in July by former CHP leader Özgür Özel after a court removed him from his party post. The new party's emergence added another layer of complexity to an already fragmented opposition landscape.

Despite their joint candidate, the opposition could not overcome the combined effect of arrests and defections. The arrest of two opposition council members shortly before the revote deprived the alliance of key votes. The defection of four council members to the AKP further tilted the council in Erdoğan's favor. Local media reported that the defections occurred before the revote, suggesting a coordinated effort to secure an AKP majority.

The AKP's candidate won the deputy mayor vote as live footage from city hall showed. The result gives the AKP effective control of the district administration while the elected mayor remains suspended. It also underscores the AKP's determination to regain ground in Istanbul, a city it lost to the CHP in 2019 and failed to win back in 2024.

Why Üsküdar Matters

Üsküdar is not just any Istanbul district. It is one of the city's oldest and most symbolic areas, located on the Asian side of the Bosphorus. It has a large conservative voter base and has historically been friendly to Erdoğan's party. The presence of Erdoğan's private residence in the district adds to its political significance. A loss there in 2024 was therefore especially painful for the AKP.

Istanbul as a whole is Turkey's economic, cultural, and media capital. Control of its districts translates into control over budgets, municipal services, zoning decisions, and patronage networks. For Erdoğan, who began his political career as mayor of Istanbul in the 1990s, the city remains a crucial power base. The AKP's efforts to reclaim district councils are part of a broader strategy to weaken the CHP's hold on the city.

Source: MSN News