Alanya Mayor Osman Tarık Özçelik, who was expelled by the MyK of Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, who was brought to the CHP administration by court decision, resigned from the CHP.
Özçelik, who announced his decision to resign from X, stated that he had no information or opinion about the reason for the disciplinary referral.
Stating that being a party to the expulsion process would benefit neither the CHP nor Alanya, the mayor said Özçelik's words were as follows:
“Dear citizens of Alanya,
My active political life started with the Local Government General Elections on March 31, 2024. I was elected Mayor with the favor of our citizens of Alanya, on this path that I started as the Alanya Mayor Candidate of the Republican People's Party.
Thus, as the Republican People's Party, we won the Mayoral election for the first time in the history of Alanya. I have carried the responsibility of this historical result with great seriousness from the first day. On that day, he fulfilled his duty not only as the Mayor of a political party; I accepted it with the responsibility of being the Mayor of all the people of Alanya who voted for me or not. Since the first day I took office, I have tried to keep the interests of Alanya and its people above all political considerations, without any political discrimination.
Turkey is going through an extremely different and difficult process due to recent legal and political developments. The developments within the Republican People's Party, court processes and their reflections on politics have left us all faced with serious decisions.
On September 30, 2026, I learned that I was referred to the High Disciplinary Board with a request for final dismissal, a decision of which I had no knowledge or idea about the reasons for which it was taken.
I did not want to make the decision I would make after this development out of anger, resentment or an instant reaction. I evaluated all aspects of what happened; I weighed it with my conscience, my political responsibility and my sense of duty towards the people of Alanya.
Throughout my political life, I have never engaged in any behavior to harm the Republican People's Party, the corporate identity of our party, or the people who have devoted their hearts to our party. In every decision I have made as Mayor, the main measurement has been the interest of Alanya, the expectations of our citizens and the public responsibility I bear.
For me, the basis of the legitimacy of the Mayor's office is the will of the people of Alanya at the ballot box on March 31, 2024. This will, which enabled the Republican People's Party to win the Mayoral election in Alanya for the first time, is also a very important trust given to me. I will protect this trust until the end.
At this point, I have come to the conclusion that being a party to an expulsion process against me will be of no benefit to the Republican People's Party, Alanya, or myself. For this reason, I make my decision not according to the preferences of others, but in line with my own conscience and sense of responsibility. I also take full political and personal responsibility for the decision I made.
I am resigning from my membership in the Republican People's Party as of today.
This is my decision; It is not the result of resentment, personal reckoning, or rejection of the past. On the contrary, I want to keep this process out of polemics and mutual accusations, as a requirement of the respect I have for the people with whom I have walked the road so far, our citizens who have devoted their hearts to our party, and everyone who worked in the election process.
The only thing that upset me about the process that happened yesterday was; The reason is that a person who resigned from his party in the past because his request for parliamentary membership was not deemed appropriate has made a statement today that I was expelled from the Republican People's Party. I have never found it right to conduct politics based on personal expectations, resentments or past calculations. Political responsibility requires, above all, putting aside personal interests and considering the interests of the society and the nation. Because in my understanding, the interests of the nation are always above personal interests under all circumstances. I have no personal issues with any of our colleagues with whom I served under the umbrella of the Republican People's Party. I would like to thank everyone who has been with me so far, who has worked hard, supported me and with whom we have fought together.
I will continue to fulfill the authority and responsibility I received from the people of Alanya on March 31, 2024. For me, politics is a matter of being responsible to the nation, before it is a matter of protecting offices or party identities. For this reason, in the future, I will continue to serve Alanya with a municipality approach that is transparent, accountable, fair and does not discriminate between any of our citizens.
I would especially like to express that the decision I made today was not an easy one. However, sometimes doing the difficult thing in politics does not mean avoiding responsibility; On the contrary, it means openly assuming that responsibility.”
