Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya asks for votes for Murat Kurum: 'Are we ready to make him mayor?'

Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya met with Ümraniye Mayor İsmet Yıldırım and other officials at the Ümraniye Election Coordination Center. Addressing citizens during a shopkeeper visit on Alemdağ Street, Yerlikaya reiterated his request for votes for the AKP's Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality mayoral candidate, Murat Kurum. 

In his speech, Yerlikaya reminded that the local elections are approaching and used the expression, "You will determine who you will entrust the metropolitan city and the 39 districts to for the next 5 years."

"WITHOUT DISCRIMINATION"

Recalling that mayors were once called "shehremini" (trustee of the city), Minister Yerlikaya said, "Our candidates are our friends who, without discriminating between those who voted for us and those who did not, see all the problems of our fellow citizens in Ümraniye and Istanbul as a trust and work with all their might, day and night, to address them."

Emphasizing that Turkey became acquainted with "real municipalism" in 1994 under the current President and AKP Chairman Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Yerlikaya stated that this real municipalism grew in Istanbul and became an example for all of Turkey, adding, "With God's permission, real municipalism will be reborn in Istanbul on the evening of March 31; we believe in this."

Describing the services Yıldırım has provided in the district, Yerlikaya said, "You have seen very well who you have entrusted the municipality's services to. Did he become the mayor only for those who voted for him? No. He became the mayor of all of Ümraniye, didn't he?"

ASKED FOR VOTES FOR MURAT KURUM

In his speech, he asked for votes for the People's Alliance and AKP Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality mayoral candidate Murat Kurum with the following words: "We wholeheartedly believe that our candidate Murat Kurum will embrace and encompass all our fellow citizens in Istanbul and will not engage in any discrimination, because this is the real municipalism and real service we learned from our leader. Are we ready to make candidate Murat Kurum the mayor of real municipalism for the Metropolitan Municipality at the ballot box?" When Yerlikaya asked this, the citizens replied, "We are ready."

Explaining that he has been speaking with citizens every morning via social media since he took office, Minister Yerlikaya noted the following:

"We always say: the peace of Turkey. The Interior Ministry family, my 600 thousand friends, our heroic gendarmerie, police, coast guard, and civil administrators—we are a family and we are at your service. We exist for you. Look, we are catching them one by one—all terrorist organizations, starting with the treacherous separatist terrorist organization, organized crime groups, and those we call urban bandits who dare to commit crimes and act arrogantly. As of this morning, the number has reached 420; we will root them all out and deliver them to justice. We are also giving no breathing room to drug dealers who dare to poison our children and youth. You have seen what we have done in our 30 metropolitan cities since I took office regarding the fight against irregular migration in Istanbul. Know that we will not step back or stop fighting them, not for 1 hour, not even for 1 minute."

News Source: 12punto