In a year without elections, Turkish politics had its fair share of turbulence and fast-paced developments. Undoubtedly, highlights of the year for politicians from all parties were new phases in the terror-free Türkiye initiative, and the arrest and detention of mayors of the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) on charges of corruption.
For the terror-free Türkiye initiative, the year began on a positive note as a delegation from the Peoples’ Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party) met Devlet Bahçeli, leader of the government ally Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) on Jan. 2. The meeting was significant as the delegation had recently returned from a meeting with the jailed ringleader of the PKK terrorist group and it was another rare get-together for two parties whose ideologies probably had the sharpest contrast. It was, however, just part of the initiative, which, quite strikingly, was engineered by the MHP, a party that long defended strict military measures to eliminate the PKK. The DEM Party, on the other hand, adhered to an unwavering pro-PKK stance for a long time, criticizing operations against the group.
The Bahçeli-DEM Party meeting, a continuation of outreach between the two sides that began when Bahçeli unexpectedly shook hands with DEM Party lawmakers and unveiled the then-unnamed terror-free Türkiye initiative in the last months of 2024.
It was also the shape of things to come, just like the arrest of Rıza Akpolat, mayor of Istanbul’s Beşiktaş district, who was detained on Jan. 13, along with other bureaucrats of the municipality run by the CHP and Aziz Ihsan Aktaş, a businessperson who was accused of securing tenders from CHP-run municipalities in exchange for bribes. The public would later find out that it was just the tip of the iceberg regarding the corruption engulfing CHP’s municipalities. On Feb. 27, the mayor of Istanbul’s Beykoz district, Alaattin Köseler, became the second CHP mayor to be detained on similar charges.
Yet, few people knew back then that a more prominent mayor would be next in line as investigations into corruption allegations deepened. The CHP has been relatively mute when the two mayors were detained, but the silence was broken when Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoğlu, a rising star in Türkiye’s oldest party, was detained on March 19, along with two other district mayors in Istanbul and senior municipal bureaucrats, on charges of corruption and terrorism. On March 21, Imamoğlu and others were remanded in custody. The arrests prompted an outcry from the CHP, which launched rallies in Istanbul outside the headquarters of the metropolitan municipality. Protests against what the CHP called "politically-motivated" arrests occasionally escalated into violent riots and continue to this day in a more muted format and in other cities.
In its bid to portray the arrests as a means to prevent the CHP’s future ambitions, the party hastily organized an intraparty election to decide on its future presidential candidate, and Imamoğlu was elected.
Imamoğlu now faces prison terms amounting to thousands of years, while his trial, or trials as he has other pending cases involving forgery of his university diploma and insults to public officials, will continue in 2026. Prosecutors say the mayor formed a criminal network thriving on bribes from businesspeople seeking favors from the municipality, from building permits to lucrative tenders. The trial of Imamoğlu and 406 others in the case will commence on March 9, 2026. In the following months, more mayors of the CHP were detained or arrested on charges of corruption.
The CHP, nevertheless, frantically sought to portray itself as the last bastion of democracy as its call for early elections failed to garner support. Özgür Özel was reelected the party’s chair in an extraordinary intraparty election in April. It was also an effort to cement Özel’s place in the party, as former members of the party had already filed a lawsuit, calling for the annulment of the 2023 party congress that brought Özel to power. One of the most anticipated trials in 2025, the lawsuit temporarily came to a halt when an Ankara court in October dismissed the case where Özel and other CHP figures were accused of scheming to buy votes in the 2023 congress to oust then-Chairperson Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu. The dismissal was a brief respite for the CHP, though, as an appeals court will look into the lawsuit in 2026, along with another case where plaintiffs seek nullification of the election of Özgür Çelik, head of the party’s Istanbul branch, who was already suspended from duty and replaced by a trustee, the party’s former vice chair, Gürsel Tekin.
As the CHP dealt with legal troubles, Türkiye witnessed unprecedented developments in the terror-free Türkiye initiative.
The initiative, which was shaped by Bahçeli’s historic call to the PKK’s jailed leader, Abdullah Öcalan, urging him to appeal to the PKK to lay down arms, had its first concrete result in February. On Feb. 27, Öcalan conveyed his message to that extent through DEM Party lawmakers and invited the PKK to dissolve itself.
In May, the PKK convened a “congress” and announced it would dissolve itself. On July 11, the terrorist group held a ceremony in northern Iraq where terrorists tossed their weapons into a pit of fire and burned them, to demonstrate their commitment to disarmament.
In August, Parliament announced the establishment of the National Solidarity, Brotherhood and Democracy Committee, which will serve as a guide for Parliament in determining legislative steps to move forward with the initiative. Since its first meeting on Aug. 5, the committee, comprised of lawmakers from the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) and opposition parties, including the CHP, DEM Party, as well as government ally MHP, has heard from people from all walks of life who were affected by the PKK’s violent campaign. Along with families of counterterrorism victims, the committee heard from ministers, parents of PKK members, academics and civic society leaders. In 2026, the committee is expected to wrap up its work as parties contributing to the committee started presenting their reports containing suggestions to move forward with the initiative. Reports mostly involve legal regulations that will encourage disarmament, such as lenient sentences for PKK members not involved in acts of terrorism.
The early months of the year were troublesome for Devlet Bahçel, who was hospitalized in February and underwent surgery due to health problems related to his heart valve. Bahçeli disappeared from the public eye for nearly two months as he recovered, but the lengthy disappearance fueled rumors that the 77-year-old politician’s health was deteriorating. In April, Bahçeli made his first public appearance in months, visiting the grave of his party’s founder, Alparslan Türkeş. The veteran politician scaled back his weekly appearances, but he remained in good health since then, regularly attending his party’s weekly parliamentary meetings, where his fiery speeches often made headlines.
On May 3, Turkish politics bid farewell to renowned politician Sırrı Süreyya Önder. A 64-year-old lawmaker from the DEM Party, who also served as deputy Parliament speaker, passed away weeks after suffering a heart attack. The filmmaker-turned-politician, who is known for his deep sense of humor, cheering up otherwise boring parliamentary sessions, had Turkish politics united in mourning. Political adversary Bahçeli was one of the first to rush for condolences while a large crowd attended the funeral ceremony for Önder. Önder was also a key figure in the terror-free Türkiye initiative as part of the DEM Party delegation, frequently visiting Öcalan and, in a way, mediating “talks” between the PKK leader and Parliament.
Apart from the outpouring of condolences, the funeral ceremony for Önder went down into the annals of Turkish political history as the scene of a notorious incident. Just as he was leaving the ceremony in Istanbul, CHP leader Özgür Özel was violently slapped by a man in a much-publicized incident. The perpetrator, a 66-year-old man who claimed to be angered with Özel’s past statements, was released in September after he was handed a 12-month prison term, due to laws allowing defendants to be released without serving time if their pretrial detention is long enough.
