Turkey’s Interior Ministry has launched an investigation into a district governor following a heated social media exchange with an opposition lawmaker, escalating a political dispute that began during a national holiday celebration.
Muharrem Eligül, the district governor of Ayaş in Ankara province, was reassigned to a legal advisory role in Edirne province on Monday as part of the probe, according to an official statement from the ministry. The investigation centers on Eligül’s social media conduct, including a profanity-laced reply to Umut Akdoğan, a lawmaker from the Republican People’s Party (CHP).
The controversy erupted after Akdoğan accused Eligül of barring a municipal press officer from a April 23 Children’s Day event in Ayaş, a claim that sparked public backlash. Ankara’s provincial governor’s office had already initiated a separate inquiry into Eligül’s earlier social media posts about the incident.
The dispute took a sharper turn on Sunday when Akdoğan, a vocal critic of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), vowed to raise the issue in Turkey’s parliament. “Don’t think we’ve forgotten about you, Ayaş Governor,” Akdoğan wrote on X, formerly Twitter. “This week in the Grand National Assembly, we’ll discuss the audacity of people like you.”
Eligül responded with a blunt, two-word reply: “Kes lan!” — a Turkish phrase roughly equivalent to “Shut up, man!” The post was later deleted, and Eligül’s social media account was locked, according to local reports.
The Interior Ministry confirmed the investigation in a statement late Monday, announcing that a civil inspector had been assigned to examine Eligül’s social media activity. The ministry also disclosed his temporary reassignment to Edirne, a western province near the Greek border, where he will serve as a legal advisor to the provincial governor’s office.
The case has drawn attention to the tensions between local officials and opposition figures, particularly in the lead-up to Turkey’s next general election. While the AKP maintains a strong majority in parliament, the CHP has increasingly used social media and legislative platforms to challenge what it describes as overreach by government-appointed administrators.
Eligül’s reassignment does not constitute a formal dismissal, but it removes him from his high-profile role in Ayaş during the investigation. The outcome of the probe could set a precedent for how Turkey’s central government handles disputes involving local officials and elected lawmakers.
Neither Eligül nor Akdoğan has publicly commented on the reassignment or the ongoing investigation.
