More than 20 mayors from the CHP party in Turkey have been imprisoned.

Omissions

• The claim does not distinguish between metropolitan city mayors (büyükşehir belediye başkanı) — of whom approximately 6 have been arrested — and district mayors (ilçe belediye başkanı), who make up the larger share of the 20+ figure. This distinction is significant for understanding the scale and geography of the crackdown.
• The MEP did not cite any source for the claim. All available sources are secondary (NGOs, think tanks, and news outlets); no primary official tally from Turkish judicial authorities or an international body was found.
• The most precise count available (20 mayors remaining jailed) dates from April 2026 and was published by the Stockholm Center for Freedom and Turkish Minute. A further arrest of Silivri district mayor Bora Balcıoğlu was reported on the very day of the session (16 June 2026), meaning the exact count at the moment the claim was made is uncertain but likely at least 21.

Sources

• SecondaryStockholm Center for FreedomTwenty elected mayors from Turkey's main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) remain in prison two years after the March 31, 2024 local elections.
• SecondaryStockholm Center for FreedomMore than 20 mayors elected from the CHP have been jailed during the crackdown.
• SecondaryTurkish Minute20 opposition mayors remain jailed as crackdown on CHP rolls back its 2024 local election gains.
• SecondaryCentre for Eastern Studies (OSW)As a result of actions by the politicised judiciary, six CHP city mayors, including İmamoğlu, have been arrested and removed from office.
• SecondaryTurkish MinuteA Turkish court has arrested Bora Balcıoğlu, the mayor of İstanbul's Silivri district, and nine others as part of a corruption investigation.