The disciplinary committee of Türkiye’s main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) imposed a provisional dismissal of Bolu’s populist Mayor Tanju Özcan over offensive remarks, the party said Monday.

The disciplinary committee convened to discuss Özcan’s case, which had been referred to it with a request for his dismissal.

In a statement, the CHP said in a unilateral vote it has decided to dismiss Özcan for a year.

The mayor had previously received several verbal warnings from the party over his statements, which targeted migrants, women and more.

In January, the party issued a disciplinary warning to Özcan for offensive remarks against a woman wearing a headscarf.

Özcan had previously said in an interview that a woman wearing a headscarf had sought help from him.

"She told me that she could not conceive and asked for help. In response, I asked her, 'ma’am, how can I help you?'" Özcan had said in the interview. People on social media quickly condemned the mayor for exploiting the woman’s cries for help and twisting them in a denigrating manner.

The mayor has been under fire over his xenophobic remarks since taking office in 2019, including from members of his party.

A court in the northwestern Turkish city of Bolu overturned a controversial city council vote that aimed to charge a tenfold fee to the water bills of "foreigners" – in reference to refugees from neighboring Syria – and fees for performing marriage ceremonies.

The mayor said he was doing this so that "foreigners" would leave. "They overstayed their welcome. If I had the authority, I would deploy municipality officials to throw them out by force," he said, recalling that he had allocated free buses for refugees when Turkey briefly opened its borders to Europe for them.

Özcan was also heavily criticized on social media for being "populist" and "fascist," with some even calling for a racial discrimination complaint to be filed against him.