14.08.2026 22:10
President Erdogan personally pinned badges on the mayors who joined the ranks at the AK Party's 25th anniversary ceremony. A total of 7 mayors, including 5 from CHP, who resigned from the New Welfare Party and the DEM Party, switched to the AK Party in the ceremony held.
The magnificent program held on the occasion of AK Party's 25th anniversary featured notable participation in politics. A badge ceremony was held for mayors who resigned after being elected from different political parties. President and AK Party Chairman Recep Tayyip Erdogan personally pinned the badges of the figures joining the party, formalizing their transition to the AK Party ranks.
WEIGHT ON CHP MAYORS
Many mayors who left opposition parties were present at the ceremony. The names who resigned from the CHP and joined the AK Party were as follows:
Ankara Golbasi Mayor: Yakup Odabasi
Ankara Kahramankazan Mayor: Selim Cirpanoglu
Kutahya Domanic Mayor: Engin Uysal
Tekirdag Hayrabolu Mayor: Turker Basoglu
Canakkale Eceabat Mayor: Saim Zileli
PARTICIPATION FROM YENIDEN REFAH AND DEM PARTY AS WELL
Participation was not limited to the CHP. Kutahya Tavsanli Mayor Ali Kemal Derin, who left the New Welfare Party (Yeniden Refah Partisi), and Sirnak Idil Mayor Turkan Kayir, who resigned from the DEM Party, were also among the names who joined the AK Party ranks.
These transfers, which caused a great stir in local politics, became one of the most talked-about developments of the party's 25th anniversary celebrations.