More people have been detained in Turkey following a court's ouster of the leadership of the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP).
Among those taken into custody was Mustafa Güney, the CHP mayor of the Güzelbahce district in the western city of Izmir. Police also searched the local municipal administration, the DHA news agency reported on Tuesday.
The raid was carried out as part of an investigation into alleged irregularities in the construction sector, DHA said. The head of the municipality’s construction department and Güney’s wife were also taken into custody.
Özgür Özel, who dismissed as CHP leader by a court ruling on Thursday, is expected to hold a rally later on Tuesday in Izmir, a stronghold of Turkey’s secular opposition.
A court in Ankara last week annulled the CHP’s 2023 party congress, at which Özel had been elected party leader, citing alleged irregularities, and removed him from office.
The court installed former CHP leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, 77, as interim party chief.
The detained mayor is a supporter of Özel.
The CHP says it has long been the target of a politically motivated campaign by the government.
Numerous CHP politicians and mayors are currently in jail, including the ousted Istanbul mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu, the party’s most prominent detained figure and considered long-time President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's most serious political rival.
İmamoğlu has been held since March 2025 and is on trial on corruption charges.
The Turkish government denies interfering in the judiciary.
