Mansur Yavas denies speculation over possible move to Erdogan’s AK Party

Ankara Mayor Mansur Yavas, who was elected with the support of the opposition Republican People's Party (CHP), issued a statement on his official Facebook profile saying that his meeting with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan was related to his duties as mayor of Ankara. He rejected speculation that the meeting could be linked to a possible move to the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party), headed by Erdogan.

Yavas made clear in his statement that he had requested the meeting with the President in connection with projects requiring approval at government level. The two had discussed major investments expected in Ankara, underground railway projects, loans and the approval timeline, the large exhibition spaces planned to be built, as well as other problems facing Ankara that await solutions, the Mayor specified, CE Report quotes BTA.

Yavas attended rallies in support of Ozgur Ozel, who was removed as chairman of the CHP in May 2026 after a court annulled the party's 38th congress and reinstated former chairman Kemal Kilicdaroglu. However, the Mayor did not follow Ozel when he launched a new political project, the New Party, in July. In this context, and also to reject speculation that he might move from the opposition to the ruling party, Yavas said that both Kilicdaroglu and Ozel had known that he would meet Erdogan. The Ankara Mayor stressed that it was impossible for him to adopt an approach that would disappoint the people who had stood by him for years.

Yavas also commented on the divisions within the CHP, the movement of supporters towards the newly established New Party, and the balance of forces on the Municipal Council, saying that he could still see anger and resentment that had not subsided.

The Ankara Mayor said that it was not right to interpret the steps he would take as support for anyone, as his focus was to preserve the basis for consensus and the possibility for people to sit around the same table again. He urged citizens not to believe anything that does not come directly from him.

Following the meeting between Yavas and Erdogan, the President's Directorate of Communications issued a statement confirming the meeting and released a photograph of the Turkish President and Ankara Mayor, but provided no details about the topics discussed. Yavas, meanwhile, posted on his official X account that they had discussed infrastructure projects, including underground railway investments, as well as ongoing and planned projects. Later, in an interview with Koza TV, New Party Leader Ozel confirmed that he had known about the meeting.

Photo: Instagram/yavasmansur