Turkish main opposition sacks notorious mayor in towel

Özkan Yalım, disgraced mayor of the western province of Uşak for the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) was fired, the CHP announced on Sunday. Party spokesman Zeynel Emre told a news conference that the Central Disciplinary Board held a meeting on Saturday and decided to expel Yalım.

Yalım’s image is etched in public memory as the semi-naked mayor with a towel wrapped around his waist during a police raid in March in Ankara. Police officers were executing a detention warrant for Yalım on charges of corruption when he was caught in a hotel room in Ankara with one of his mistresses. Journalists later found out that Yalım had at least three extramarital affairs, while social media was flooded with claims that the mayor secretly recorded affairs of several prominent figures of CHP during their stay in a hotel Yalım owned in Uşak.

At the news conference in Istanbul on Sunday, Emre echoed CHP Chair Özgür Özel’s earlier remarks regarding the detention of Yalım. He said that CHP was disturbed by what he called “judicial plots,” but one among them “ethically” disturbed them. He noted that the party had also convened another disciplinary board meeting earlier about the mayor, which led to the suspension of the mayor’s membership.

The decision sparked fury among some CHP supporters on social media. Replying to a post by the official CHP account on the expulsion of Yalım, some users questioned the timing of the decision, which came almost two months after the detention. Others parroted unconfirmed allegations that Yalım blackmailed the CHP administration not to fire him (through alleged sex tapes he recorded in his hotel) but ultimately failed.

In March, Özel has defended the mayor for what he called the latter’s invasion of privacy but said he felt shame for “such a disgrace.” Speaking at an event in the western city of Çanakkale, Özel said back then that he was “troubled” because they allowed such a disgrace. “Yalım has to account to his family for what happened, but we have a responsibility towards the people of Uşak. We will do whatever is necessary,” Özel said.

At least a dozen CHP mayors have been detained or arrested since last year, with several more facing ongoing corruption and bribery investigations or trials. High-profile cases include Istanbul’s suspended mayor, Ekrem Imamoğlu, and Antalya’s ousted mayor, Muhittin Böcek, whose cases have drawn national attention following their arrests late last year and trials that began earlier this month.

According to the investigation on Yalım, Uşak Municipality is accused of using duplicate invoicing in public tenders, with the difference allegedly collected as illicit payments. Authorities also claim that companies were pressured to provide business partnerships to individuals linked to the mayor’s family in exchange for securing contracts.

Prosecutors further allege that deputy mayors collected large sums of money under the guise of donations to Uşakspor, a local football club, but transferred the funds into personal accounts. Some payments were allegedly delivered in cash to the mayor’s office and handled without receipts.

The investigation also points to alleged misuse of municipal funds, including expenses at entertainment venues that were reportedly billed to the municipality as “representation and hospitality” costs.

Authorities claim that Yalım transferred all his registered assets to his driver, Cihan Aras, in 2025 to avoid possible seizure. Prosecutors also allege that a municipal position was given to an individual with personal ties to the mayor despite no evidence of actual employment.

DAILYSABAH