Asuman Şen has won the vote to become the acting mayor of Menderes Municipality, according to TRT Haber. The election took place on Monday, August 17, 2026, with Şen running as the candidate for the AK Party.
The result was also confirmed by NTV Haber, which reported that Şen, the AK Party's nominee, secured the position of municipal acting mayor. The vote follows a period of political maneuvering in the district, with multiple outlets covering the lead-up to the decision.
According to Sözcü Gazetesi, Müslim Sarı admitted that party members had not even listened to arguments about the legal invalidity of the process, a remark that has drawn attention to internal party dynamics. Meanwhile, Diken reported that a spokesperson for the main opposition CHP attributed the municipality's shift to AK Party control to officials from the Yeni Parti, suggesting internal divisions played a role.
T24 added that former CHP leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu had instructed supporters to vote for the Yeni Parti candidate in the process. These reports indicate that the acting mayor selection was not a routine administrative matter but a contested political event, with competing factions within the opposition and governing parties involved.
The outcome places Şen in a temporary leadership role for Menderes, a district in İzmir Province. The acting mayor will oversee municipal operations until a permanent arrangement is made, though no timeline for a full mayoral election has been reported.
Observers will watch whether the political tensions highlighted by the various parties' statements affect the municipality's day-to-day governance in the coming weeks.
