AKP expels four mayors over links to Gülenists

ANKARA

The ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) has expelled four of its district mayors over suspected links to the movement of U.S.-based Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen, said to be behind last month’s failed coup attempt.

AKP spokesperson Yasin Aktay told reporters that Enver Başaran, the mayor of the Aşkale district of Erzurum; Savaş Akarçeşme, the mayor of the Çamoluk district of Giresun; Halil İbrahim Oral, the mayor of the Ilgın district of Konya,;and Ali Erdoğmuş, the mayor of Nar district of Nevşehir have all been expelled from the party. 

Aktay recalled that Başaran and Akarçeşme had already been arrested as part of ongoing investigation into the so-called Fethullahist Terror Organization (FETÖ). 

Following the thwarted coup attempt, the AKP formed a commission to identify potential Gülenists within different branches of the party.