First Week of April 2026: Erdoğan is suffocating CHP

Weekly Turkey Report: First Week of April 2026 – Erdoğan is suffocating CHP

Executive Summary: 

• CHP Bursa Metropolitan Mayor Mustafa Bozbey was detained along with 55 people, including his wife Seden Bozbey, daughter Side Bozbey Gürer, and brother Ertan Bozbey. Bozbey was arrested and removed from the office.
• CHP leader Özgür Özel announced that he will visit Parliamentary Speaker Numan Kurtulmuş in the coming days to discuss the prospect of a by-election. DEM responded coolly to this idea.

• Abdullah Öcalan sent a message to the Kurds and said, ‘Kurds will no longer be anyone’s battering ram. I will not allow it, I will not permit it.’ He said he wants to bring about a reality in which, from this moment on, not a single hair on a Kurd’s head will be harmed anywhere — they will not lose their lives, they will not be massacred.”

• The Constitutional Court unanimously ruled that the rights to individual petition and to a fair trial had been violated in the case of Tayfun Kahraman, a convict in the Gezi Park case, owing to the continued non-implementation of a prior ruling finding a breach of his rights.
• According to March data released by the Turkish Statistical Institute (TurkStat), the consumer price index rose 1.94% month-on-month, 10.04% compared to December of the previous year, and 30.87% year-on-year. The twelve-month average increase was recorded at 32.82%.

Erdoğan is suffocating CHP

Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, having brokered a deal with Kurdish political forces through Abdullah Öcalan, shows no sign of letting up on his pressure campaign against the main opposition CHP, systematically targeting the party’s municipal strongholds. 

CHP leader Özgür Özel, exhausted by the relentless pressure, is exploring whether 22 deputies could resign to force a by-election under constitutional provisions — but DEM Party has responded coolly to the idea, and it remains unclear whether the AKP–MHP parliamentary majority would even accept the resignations.

Meanwhile, the economic fallout from the US–Israel war against Iran is beginning to be felt by ordinary citizens. Steep hikes in energy prices — from fuel to natural gas — look set to drive inflation sharply higher, while Turkey’s current account deficit continues to widen at a pace that is alarming economists. 

Bursa Mayor Removed from Office 

CHP Bursa Metropolitan Mayor Mustafa Bozbey was detained along with 55 people, including his wife Seden Bozbey, daughter Side Bozbey Gürer, and brother Ertan Bozbey. The number of detainees later rose to 57 with the arrest of businessmen Abdülkadir Alkan and Necati Abay, both of whom were being sought as fugitives in the investigation. The charges are reported to stem from the period seven years ago when Bozbey served as mayor of Nilüfer district. Bozbey was subsequently remanded in custody and removed from office by order of the Interior Ministry.

CHP leader Özgür Özel reacted sharply to the arrest of Bursa Metropolitan Mayor Mustafa Bozbey. Özel argued that Bozbey had been targeted for refusing to join the AKP, characterising the situation as an ultimatum of “join the party or go to prison.” Özel added: “They are trying to take Bursa through operations, having failed to win it at the ballot box. Who do you think you are — the mafia?”

Özel Moves to Force By-Election

CHP leader Özgür Özel announced that he will visit Parliamentary Speaker Numan Kurtulmuş in the coming days to discuss the prospect of a by-election. “We have a very bold move in the works,” Özel said. “These are the days the Constitution calls for a by-election.” He indicated that as part of a two-stage plan, as many as 22 deputies could resign if necessary. Noting that eight seats in parliament are currently vacant, Özel said: “If they are not planning [a by-election] for eight seats, they will be compelled to act once the number of vacancies reaches 30. And if they still refuse at that point, there will be a steep political price to pay — it will look like running away from the people and the ballot box.”

DEM Party responded negatively to Özel’s call for a by-election. Party spokesperson Ayşegül Doğan said: “We understand the reasoning behind the call. However, the priority must be steps toward democratisation — CHP should be taking the lead on that. A debate centred on elections risks overshadowing many other crucial issues.”

Witnesses Recant in İmamoğlu Trial

A significant development has emerged in the case targeting subsidiaries of Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality (IBB). Vedat Şahin, a defendant who had previously turned state’s witness under the active remorse statute, retracted the statements he had given to prosecutors. Earlier in the proceedings, businessman Murat Kapki had told the court that prosecutors had guided him into providing inaccurate information. At the fifteenth hearing, a fourth defendant also withdrew his testimony. The lawyer for detained defendant Elif Güven, Ruşen Gültekin, stated: “My client was made to sign statements written to suit others — she did not even know what active remorse meant.”

Eleven Parties Issue Democracy Declaration

Eleven political parties and organisations, including DEM Party, TİP and EMEP, issued a joint statement declaring that “the goodwill phase is now behind us.” The declaration called for an end to the practice of appointing government trustees to elected municipalities, the immediate implementation of rulings by the Constitutional Court and the European Court of Human Rights, and concrete steps by parliament toward democratisation.

AKP Deputy Chairman Kürşad Zorlu announced that preparations are underway to declare 21 March an official public holiday in recognition of Nowruz.

Öcalan Sends Message to Kurds

DEM Party İmralı delegation member Pervin Buldan gave an extensive interview to Medya Haber TV about the approximately five-hour meeting held on İmralı Island on 27 March.

Reporting that Öcalan had issued clear warnings on the question of Rojava in particular, Buldan conveyed his words as follows: “At this last meeting, Mr. Öcalan said, ‘Kurds will no longer be anyone’s battering ram. I will not allow it, I will not permit it.’ He said he wants to bring about a reality in which, from this moment on, not a single hair on a Kurd’s head will be harmed anywhere — they will not lose their lives, they will not be massacred — and in which Kurds can express themselves freely in every part of the world.” 

Journalist Faces 20-Year Prison Demand

An indictment has been filed against detained journalist Alican Uludağ on charges of “publicly insulting the President,” “publicly disseminating misleading information,” and “publicly denigrating the government of the Republic of Turkey and the state’s judicial organs.” Prosecutors have sought a prison sentence of up to 19 years, 4 months and 15 days on the grounds that the offences were committed in a chain of repeated acts.

Istanbul 26th Criminal Court of First Instance both acknowledged that it lacked jurisdiction and transferred the case to Ankara, while simultaneously accepting the indictment that had been placed before it.

The Constitutional Court unanimously ruled that the rights to individual petition and to a fair trial had been violated in the case of Tayfun Kahraman, a convict in the Gezi Park case, owing to the continued non-implementation of a prior ruling finding a breach of his rights.

Turkish Lira Enters Fresh Crisis

Robin Brooks, former Chief Economist at the Institute of International Finance (IIF) and Senior Fellow at the Brookings Institution, has published a widely-discussed analysis of the Turkish economy. In a piece titled “Turkey Has Re-entered Crisis,” Brooks argues that the depreciation of the Turkish lira has only been arrested through massive foreign exchange and gold market interventions, and that this course of action is not sustainable over the long term.

Turkey’s Central Bank (TCMB) total reserves have fallen by $55 billion since the outbreak of the Iran war, with a $22 billion decline recorded in the past week alone. Four bankers consulted by Reuters calculated that total reserves for the week ending 27 March fell by $22 billion to $155.5 billion. In the final pre-war data point, total reserves stood at $210 billion.

The rising energy costs triggered by the conflict that began between the US, Israel and Iran on 28 February continue to generate pressure on Turkey’s foreign currency demand. The Central Bank’s net foreign exchange position, excluding swaps, has plunged sharply since February to $9.3 billion, while the bank is reported to have deployed 121 tonnes of gold reserves through swap and direct sale operations over the past three weeks.

TurkStat Reports Lower-Than-Expected Inflation

According to March data released by the Turkish Statistical Institute (TurkStat), the consumer price index rose 1.94% month-on-month, 10.04% compared to December of the previous year, and 30.87% year-on-year. The twelve-month average increase was recorded at 32.82%.

Sharp Energy Price Increases

With BOTAŞ’s new tariff taking effect on 4 April, a two-tier pricing system for natural gas has officially come into force. Under the new regime, residential subscribers have been divided into two bands: the first tier has received a 37% price increase, while subscribers in the second tier — those consuming above the threshold — face a historic 132% hike. Bakers have been exempted from the new tariff in order to prevent an increase in the price of bread.

For electricity, industrial subscribers have been partially shielded with an increase of 5.8%, while residential consumers and agricultural irrigation users have been hit with sharp rises of up to 25%.

According to the poverty and hunger report published by TÜRK-İŞ, the poverty line for a family of four has been calculated at 106,817 TL. The hunger threshold has risen to 32,792 TL.