Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality (IMM) mayor Ekrem Imamoğlu, Şişli mayor Resul Emrah Şahan and Beylikdüzü mayor Mehmet Murat Çalık were taken into custody on Wednesday morning.

The Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office announced that the warrants were issued within the scope of an investigation into the "Urban consensus", i.e. the cooperation agreement between the Republican People’s Party (CHP) and the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Equality and Democracy (DEM) Party in last year’s municipal elections. As part of this alliance, DEM refrained from fielding candidates in certain districts or ran candidates on CHP lists, allowing them to secure municipal council seats.

Şişli mayor Resul Emrah Şahan said in a post on his social media account: "This morning, a search was conducted at my home, and I was taken into custody. My lawyer was not even allowed to stay during the search. May everyone rest assured."

Beylikdüzü mayor Mehmet Murat Çalık said that he was detained as a result of a raid on his home, and added: "Our mayor Ekrem Imamoğlu and all of us taken into custody know that we are not alone."