Ankara Metropolitan Mayor Mansur Yavaş announced on Wednesday that he had resigned from the Republican People’s Party, Turkey’s largest opposition party, confirming that he would continue running the capital as an independent and would not join any other party. The decision came amid tensions within the party, which Yavaş warned could lead to a deep division in its ranks. Yavaş set out his position in a statement posted on his account on the X platform, stressing his commitment to the mandate he had received from voters.
“I have never believed, nor do I believe today, that it is right to disregard the will of voters and transfer offices entrusted through their votes to political destinations they did not approve,” he said. Following the resignation announcement, the mayors of three municipalities affiliated with the capital also left the Republican People’s Party, saying they would continue to “work side by side” with Yavaş.
Party divisions deepen after Yavaş’s resignation
Their departure adds a new dimension to the divisions within the party, as Turkey’s opposition forces reorganise their ranks and leadership. Yavaş’s decision came alongside his response to Republican People’s Party spokesman Müslüm Sarı, who had criticised his contact with the leader of the “new party”, Özgür Özel, the former head of the Republican People’s Party.
Sarı said earlier on Wednesday: “No mayor can take a step and inform the head of another party without notifying the head of his own party. This is unacceptable.” Sarı added: “The institutional identity of the Republican People’s Party stands above everyone. No one is bigger than the party, and no one should see themselves as such.” He announced that the party would hold a meeting of mayors in the coming days to assess the situation and determine the next steps.
Sarı and Yavaş exchange responses over the decision
Yavaş responded in his resignation statement: “I have never seen myself as above political parties, and I consider such a claim to be overstepping the bounds.” The resignation was preceded by a meeting between Yavaş and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan at the Beştepe presidential complex on 9 September. The meeting sparked political debate amid continuing disputes between the Republican People’s Party and the “new party”, particularly because Yavaş had taken a neutral position between the two sides during those disputes.
On 10 September, Yavaş said on the X platform that his talks with Erdoğan had focused on issues relating to the capital, Ankara. He rejected reports at the time that he might move to another party, stressing that he would not take a step that could cause “disappointment” among his supporters.
Erdoğan meeting preceded resignation announcement
He also said he had informed Republican People’s Party leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu and the leader of the “new party”, Özgür Özel, of the meeting in advance. Yavaş was born in Ankara in 1955 and graduated from the Faculty of Law at Istanbul University. He then worked as an independent lawyer in Beypazarı for 13 years.
Mansur Yavaş
Ankara Metropolitan Mayor
- 1999 and 2004
Beypazarı mayoralty
He was elected mayor of Beypazarı for two consecutive terms in 1999 and 2004, representing the Nationalist Movement Party, before later joining the Republican People’s Party. About a year after joining the Republican People’s Party, Yavaş ran for Ankara mayor in 2014 but narrowly lost the race.
- 2025
Administrative investigations
Meanwhile, some administrative files from his tenure were investigated, including an inquiry opened in 2025 into the organisation of music concerts and festivals between 2021 and 2024. Yavaş defended his administration, saying previous financial audits had found no waste of public money. His resignation is part of a series of defections from Turkey’s largest opposition party.
In 2016, he resigned from the party, then returned to the contest and won the capital’s mayoral election in 2019 as the joint candidate of the Republican People’s Party and the “İY Party”, before being re-elected for a second term in 2024. During his tenure as mayor, Yavaş focused on “social municipality” programmes and recognition awards.
Imprisoned Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu announced last month that he had joined the newly formed “new party”, after a court order removed the leadership of the Republican People’s Party, to which he had belonged. Opposition leader Özgür Özel, along with 90 defecting MPs, launched a new political party last month in an attempt to reorganise their ranks and challenge President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.
The party was formed after the court ousted Özel as head of the Republican People’s Party and ordered the return of its former leader, Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, whose leadership had triggered internal divisions. The next elections are scheduled for 2028, although they could be held earlier.
The opposition and some rights organisations say the legal campaign that has led to the imprisonment of hundreds of Republican People’s Party officials and elected members since 2024 is undemocratic and politically motivated. The Turkish government denies the allegations and maintains that the judiciary operates independently.
