Another reaction to the arrests from İmamoğlu: They scraped the IMM, and merit emerged from underneath

In the second wave of operations launched against the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality (IMM) over corruption allegations, 18 people, including high-level executives, were arrested.

CHP's presidential candidate and IMM Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu, who is currently detained at Silivri Prison, made a statement regarding his colleagues who were taken into custody and arrested.

Stating, "They scraped the IMM, and merit emerged from underneath," İmamoğlu said, "When people read the resumes of my colleagues you threw into prison, everyone saw what highly qualified teams we have built."

Addressing public employees, İmamoğlu noted the following:

"You will find peace with the transparent, participatory system we will build, which is based on reason, science, truth, and justice, and through regulations based on merit and performance.

Under our administration, you will serve our nation with great honor in a happy and peaceful environment, with a secure, effective, and efficient human resources management model that rewards those who deserve it."

The full text of İmamoğlu's statement is as follows:

"They scraped the IMM, and merit emerged from underneath.

When people read the resumes of my colleagues you threw into prison, everyone saw what highly qualified teams we have built.

This country has well-educated people; it has children who have developed themselves despite a thousand difficulties. It has millions of honest, hardworking young people with free minds and free consciences.

We have always offered scholarships, jobs, and opportunities to those who deserve them. Now it is time to spread this across all of Turkey.

We will put an end to all kinds of injustice in the public sector, illegal hiring practices, nepotism, and cronyism that have been experienced in our country for years.

I am addressing all public employees who have been tossed around by partisanship and discrimination, and who have not been able to obtain the place and position they deserve in the public sector:

You will find peace with the transparent, participatory system we will build, which is based on reason, science, truth, and justice, and through regulations based on merit and performance.

Under our administration, you will serve our nation with great honor in a happy and peaceful environment, with a secure, effective, and efficient human resources management model that rewards those who deserve it.

We will offer equal opportunities to everyone, regardless of who they are close to, their ideology, beliefs, religion, language, race, etc., and we will not approach anyone who does their job honestly with a revanchist sentiment.

Together, we will achieve great things. Together, we will entrust a very strong Republic of Turkey to our children and youth.

Our team is the 86 million patriotic people of this country."

They scraped the IMM, and merit emerged from underneath.

When people read the resumes of my colleagues you threw into prison, everyone saw what highly qualified teams we have built.

This country has well-educated people; it has children who have developed themselves despite a thousand difficulties. It has millions of honest, hardworking young people with free minds and free consciences…

— Ekrem İmamoğlu (@ekrem_imamoglu) May 3, 2025

News Source: 12punto