Claims that Çiğli Mayor Onur Emrah Yıldız in İzmir would join the AKP had previously come to the agenda.
Yıldız, who was alleged to be receiving his party badge at the AKP Provincial Chairs Meeting, had remained silent in the face of the claims about him.
While calls from journalists trying to reach Yıldız went unanswered, his phone calls were redirected to his advisor. Sources close to Yıldız had also confirmed the claims that he would join the AKP.
HIS JOINING THE AKP HAS BEEN ACCEPTED
According to newly obtained information, Onur Emrah Yıldız's transition to the AKP has been accepted. It was stated that Yıldız's participation in the AKP will take place on Tuesday, September 29, and that his party badge will be pinned on the same day.
ERDOĞAN WILL PIN HIS BADGE
The badge-pinning ceremony will be held tomorrow, and Çiğli Mayor Yıldız will officially join the AKP. It has been learned that AKP Chairman and President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan will pin the badge on Yıldız.
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HE HAD GIVEN MESSAGES OF SUPPORT FOR İMAMOĞLU
In a speech he gave at an event with children in May 2025, Yıldız had given a message of support for Ekrem İmamoğlu, who is being tried while in custody in the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality (İBB) case. Describing İmamoğlu as the "apple of Turkey's eye" and the "savior of the future," Yıldız had used the following expressions: "A hero of ours lies in the Silivri dungeon. In every world where our president, Mr. Ekrem İmamoğlu—the savior of you, us, and the future, our hope, the apple of the eye not just of Istanbul but of Turkey—exists, everything will be very beautiful. We are not afraid, we are not silent."
??From the TV program that İzmir Çiğli Mayor Onur Emrah Yıldız, who is rumored to be joining the AKP and has not denied it so far, made with children in May 2025:
— Ümit KARTAL (@iz_umitkartal) September 22, 2026
??“A hero of ours lies in the Silivri dungeon. The savior of you, us, and the future, our hope, not of Istanbul… pic.twitter.com/CFxTNcMvrU
Yıldız had also supported İmamoğlu in a social media post he made during the period when İmamoğlu was announced as the CHP's presidential candidate.
News Source: 12punto
