Üsküdar Council Member Ayhan Aydın, who switched to AKP, denies threat allegations: Blames CHP leadership

Ayhan Aydın, a municipal council member who resigned from the CHP and joined the AKP before the Üsküdar Municipality deputy mayoral election, has responded to the allegations brought against him. In a statement to the pro-government newspaper Sabah, Aydın argued that his change of party was a result of his own free will.

In allegations brought to the agenda by CHP Chairman Özgür Özel and CHP İstanbul Provincial Chairman Özgür Çelik, it was claimed that judicial pressure was exerted on some council members before the vote in Üsküdar and that negotiations were conducted through family members. It was stated that Özel had filed a 9-page criminal complaint regarding this process.

Aydın, however, denied these allegations and claimed that his reason for leaving the CHP was the pressure he said he experienced within the party and certain allegations of money collection around the municipality. Aydın claimed that he had heard rumors that money was being collected under the guise of "donations" through a sports club, and that he had confirmed this from some contractors.

AYDIN: THERE IS NO THREAT

In his statement, Aydın did not accept the claim that he had been threatened by prosecutors. Stating that he received numerous calls from the CHP side after his resignation, Aydın alleged that he was pressured to return during this process.

There is no threat; there is a dirty scenario by the CHP. The moment I saw this dirty cycle that contradicted my principles, I resigned from the CHP.

Aydın stated that he did not say he "received threats" during phone conversations, arguing that the claim that he said, "The prosecutor threatened me. My wife and child are disabled, I have no choice but to switch to the AK Party," was fabricated. Expressing that the statements of CHP İstanbul Provincial Chairman Özgür Çelik had damaged his family, Aydın requested that his family not be made a subject of political debates.

The transfer that took place before the deputy mayoral election at Üsküdar Municipality and the accompanying mutual accusations have brought the debate on party switching in local governments back to the agenda. The outcome of the legal applications regarding the allegations in the process remains a matter of curiosity.