伊兹密尔市长宣布加入埃尔多安执政党

土耳其反对派据点伊兹密尔市市长杰米尔·图盖宣布加入总统埃尔多安领导的执政党正义与发展党（AKP）1。这一转变引发伊兹密尔民众的愤怒，因为图盖曾在1月明确表示"如果加入AKP，母亲会与我断绝关系，妻子会离开我"1。伊兹密尔是土耳其第三大城市，人口450万，自1999年以来一直由社会民主党执政1。

图盖在2024年4月上任，6月因党领导层在有争议的法院裁决后被更替而退出共和人民党1。共和人民党在2024年3月地方选举中赢得压倒性胜利，但其后面临越来越多的逮捕：6名省级市长、29名地区市长被捕1。

此举被政治分析人士视为执政党应对其在2024年地方选举中重大失利的策略。政治分析人士伯克·埃森表示，这是"AKP通过武力和镇压来扭转其在2024年地方选举中重大失利的策略的延续"1。前共和人民党领导人厄兹居尔·厄泽尔表示反对派官员面临"压力、威胁和勒索的运动"1。在图盖加盟前，AKP已至少吸纳17名反对派市长1。

Cemal Tugay, the mayor of Izmir, Turkey's third-largest city with a population of 4.5 million, has announced his defection to the Justice and Development Party (AKP), the ruling party led by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan 1. This move represents a dramatic reversal for Tugay, who declared in January that joining the AKP would lead to his mother disowning him and his wife leaving him 1. Tugay assumed office in April 2024 after winning on the Republican People's Party (CHP) ticket but withdrew from the party in June following a controversial court ruling that replaced its leadership 1.

The defection is viewed as part of a broader strategy by the AKP to reverse its significant losses in the March 2024 local elections, when the opposition CHP secured an overwhelming victory 1. According to political analyst Burak Esen, this represents "the continuation of AKP's strategy of reversing its major defeat in the 2024 local elections through force and repression" 1. The opposition has faced mounting pressure following its electoral success: six provincial mayors and twenty-nine district mayors from the CHP have been arrested 1. Prior to Tugay's defection, the AKP had already recruited at least seventeen opposition mayors 1. Former CHP leader Özgür Özel characterized the situation facing opposition officials as "a campaign of pressure, threats, and blackmail" 1.