Analysis
Smart, independent reporting on Turkey's politics, economy and foreign affairs.
Izmir Metropolitan Mayor Cemil Tugay’s decision to join the AKP caused a major stir, bitter disappointment, and protests. After all, Izmir has long been regarded as a stronghold of left-wing politics. In fact, the city can be analyzed as “a city with center-right leanings that consistently votes for left-wing social democrats because of its opposition to the AKP.”
Just as the ink was drying on the Mecca Pact, the deployment of troops is now on the table, following Houthi attacks targeting Saudi Arabia.
Borsa Istanbul’s most valuable company since the first half of 2025, Aselsan has agreed a set of record-breaking contracts in recent months.
The government is seeking to create the impression that it is cutting ties with those involved in the stock market scandal and has launched an investigation, announcing that up to a million liras of losses will be repaid to investors soon. But the opposition calls it the 'corruption of the century' and is seeking a parliamentary inquiry.
Can Atalay, stripped of his parliamentary seat and held in prison since 2022, began a hunger strike as parliament reconvened on Oct. 1, while the main opposition Yeni Party walked out when President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan took the floor during the opening speech.
An Istanbul court ordered the continued detention of Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu, campaign director Necati Özkan, journalist Merdan Yanardağ, and businessperson Hüseyin Gün during the latest hearing in their political espionage trial.
A judicial investigation has spread to top-tier football referees, leading to the detention of Central Referee Committee (MHK) Chair Ferhat Gündoğdu and six other officials.
MHP Chair Devlet Bahçeli brought together Sedat Şahin and Burhanettin Saral at the party's Ankara headquarters on Sept. 26, ending a feud of more than 20 years.
Ali Şekeroğlu, 60, took his own life outside the Constitutional Court while demanding a pay raise for retirees on Sept. 25. Şekeroğlu died by suicide with his own weapon.
The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) adopted a resolution on Oct. 1 condemning what it called a coordinated campaign against LGBTQ+ people and rights defenders in Turkey.
OSCE Secretary General Feridun Sinirlioğlu is testing the waters with the Security Council's permanent members for the post of UN secretary-general, although the regional rotation favors a candidate from the Latin American and Caribbean Group (GRULAC).
The global umbrella of social democratic parties, Socialist International, suspended the CHP under its court-appointed leadership and admitted Özgür Özel's Yeni Party as a full member.