Forty opposition mayors from Turkey’s Republican People’s Party (CHP) have been arrested since the March 2024 local elections, with criminal investigations leading to suspensions and trustees taking charge of some municipalities, according to İlke TV. The total includes mayors who have since been released and does not reflect how many are currently in prison. Arrests have hit municipalities across Turkey, including İstanbul, Ankara, İzmir, Antalya, Adana and Mersin, over allegations ranging from corruption and bribery to links to terrorist organizations. On October 6, courts ordered pretrial detention for four CHP mayors, including Mersin Metropolitan Mayor Vahap Seçer, Yenişehir Mayor Abdullah Özyiğit and Mezitli Mayor Ahmet Serkan Tuncer, over alleged irregularities in municipal tenders and procurement. İstanbul’s Eyüpsultan Mayor Mithat Bülent Özmen was also jailed pending trial that day on charges including bid-rigging, bribery and membership in a criminal organization. The four mayors were subsequently suspended from office. A day earlier, Ataşehir acting mayor Murat Güneş was arrested on bribery and organized crime allegations after being elected acting mayor following the April arrest of Onursal Adıgüzel, the district’s elected mayor. Both were suspended, and the city council was scheduled to choose a new acting mayor on October 10. The arrests began in October 2024 with Ahmet Özer, mayor of İstanbul’s Esenyurt district, who was jailed on allegations of membership in the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), a terrorist organization designated by Turkey and its Western allies. He was removed from office and replaced by a government-appointed trustee. Özer was released in July 2025 after about eight months in pretrial detention and was sentenced to more than six years in prison in January 2026. In March 2025, the investigations expanded with the detention and arrest of İstanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu, along with Şişli Mayor Resul Emrah Şahan and Beylikdüzü Mayor Mehmet Murat Çalık. More İstanbul district mayors later arrested included Rıza Akpolat of Beşiktaş, Alaattin Köseler of Beykoz, Hakan Bahçetepe of Gaziosmanpaşa, Hasan Mutlu of Bayrampaşa and İnan Güney of Beyoğlu. Outside İstanbul, Antalya Metropolitan Mayor Muhittin Böcek has been held in pretrial detention since July 2025, while Adana Metropolitan Mayor Zeydan Karalar was released in March 2026 but was not reinstated. The cases have involved separate allegations including extortion, abuse of office and terrorism-related offenses. The latest confirmed status is pretrial detention and suspension for the four mayors ordered detained on October 6, while other named mayors have been arrested, released or sentenced depending on their cases.