Turkish Authorities in Izmir Arrest Former Mayor, 120 Opposition Members

Turkish authorities arrested the former Izmir mayor Tunc Sawyer today, as well as 120 other opposition municipal officials, for allegedly corruption.

Police arrested 120 Republican People's Party officials (CHP) in opposition, including Sawyer and the party's provincial leader, Senol Aslanoglu, state agency Anadolu reported.

Izmir's Public Prosecutor has issued arrest warrants for a total of 157 officials as part of an investigation into alleged manipulation of municipal tenders and fraud.

Officials from CHP-controlled municipalities in Istanbul and elsewhere have faced waves of arrests this year, including Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu, who was arrested in March on corruption charges, prompting massive street protests.

Imamoglu is Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's main rival and was officially nominated as his party's presidential candidate after being imprisoned.

The upcoming elections in Turkey are scheduled for 2028, but can be held earlier, the AP reports.

According to opinion polls, many people in Turkey believe the arrests are politically motivated, but Erdogan's government claims courts are impartial and free of political involvement./Periscopi/