Lütfü Savaş, whose candidacy sparked reactions: I trust the people of Hatay, we will win the election comfortably

Hatay Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Lütfü Savaş, who was nominated again as the mayoral candidate by the CHP in Hatay, one of the cities most affected by the February 6 earthquakes centered in Kahramanmaraş, answered questions about Hatay on a YouTube channel he attended.

"WE EXPERIENCED THE BIGGEST EARTHQUAKE OF THE LAST TWO THOUSAND YEARS"

Providing information about the process by stating that the February 6 earthquake and the subsequent earthquake were of a very serious magnitude, Mayor Savaş said, "We experienced the biggest earthquake of the last two thousand years. Hatay's Antakya and Defne districts are the districts most affected by the earthquake. The place where the earthquake was first triggered may be Kahramanmaraş, but Hatay was affected the most. In the early days, we carried out the burial procedures for our people who lost their lives in order to heal our wounds. There are more than 130 container cities," he said.

"WE WORKED DAY AND NIGHT"

Stating that there was a lot of migration to the districts after the earthquake, Savaş said, "Most of our people settled with their relatives or in their own villages. The needs in rural areas increased significantly. Especially in Altınözü, Yayladağı, and Reyhanlı, the population became two or three times higher. We are struggling not only with the destroyed areas but also for the infrastructure and many needs in the rural areas. We are building infrastructure for many newly built houses. We are also striving to bring sewage lines to new settlements. Our first 7 months passed with a tremendous pace. A very large part of our infrastructure suffered serious damage, and we worked day and night, and we continue to work," he stated.
Emphasizing that the priority problem in Hatay is housing and education, and that these problems, along with workplaces, must be solved as soon as possible, Savaş said, "Especially when housing and schools, these two factors are solved, the vast majority of our people will return to their cities. Our people who settled outside the city will return to Hatay when the vast majority of our schools are fully opened," he said.

Stating that they are following the legal process regarding the Rönesans Rezidans, Lütfü Savaş expressed that there was information requested from them as the Metropolitan Municipality and that they sent it, reminding that many contractors are in prison. Savaş once again emphasized that he had nothing to do with the license of the Rönesans Rezidans, explaining that the license was given by the Ekinci municipality of the period and that he felt great sadness for the loss of life.

Savaş said, "Until 2013, chambers were doing building inspections. They were coming to us after their approval. This authority should not have been given to municipalities that do not have technical staff. The regulation should have looked at whether the municipalities here had sufficient means."

Mayor Savaş stated that the government caused a lack of supervision by causing construction permits to be issued by town municipalities with insufficient technical staff with the changed regulation.

Stating that the magnitude of the earthquake was very high and emphasizing that serious changes should be made in the government's earthquake regulation, Mayor Savaş included the words, "It was a very large earthquake with an acceleration three times what was expected. Most of all, Antakya was caught with horizontal and vertical fluctuations. There was destruction everywhere."

"THE MINISTRY'S REGULATION WAS NOT SUITABLE FOR THE MAGNITUDE OF THIS EARTHQUAKE"

Continuing his speech, Savaş responded to the criticisms, saying, "I am a Republican People's Party Mayor. I did not cause the earthquake in other provinces either. Municipalities gave the licenses they issued according to the earthquake regulation. The earthquake came with a very large wave. The Ministry of Environment and Urbanization's regulation was not suitable for the magnitude of this earthquake. It needs to be changed according to the region so that there are no more deaths in our country. First, the regulation needs to be reviewed. I have been a metropolitan mayor for ten years. Not a single building, not a single bridge, not a single underpass we built collapsed. Let everyone be held accountable. Let me be held accountable too. Let the other provinces be held accountable too," he expressed.

Evaluating the election process in Hatay, Savaş said, "A historic decision was made and it was given to the person who will win. Thank God our people trust me and I trust the people of Hatay, we have achieved this over the years. The most profitable capital is trust. We won the last election by a margin of more than 110 thousand. Despite the people coming to our city from outside, despite the 13 thousand Syrian votes, we won the election. I am a person who receives votes from everywhere. We will win the election," he said.

"WE WILL WIN THE ELECTION COMFORTABLY"

Speaking about the election polls conducted in Hatay, Savaş said, "I came out first in the polls among the candidates. We have a rural development project. I am at every point of Hatay. We will go head-to-head with the government in the rural areas. We will win the election comfortably. Great traumas were experienced with the pandemic, fire, and earthquake. No one was there for the first three days of the earthquake. We lost 166 of our personnel. I was here for 56 days and we organized by establishing a headquarters for those in need. We saved more than 3 thousand 800 of our people in the first three days," he said.

Stating that the people of Hatay are quite strong and that he believes they will overcome the process together with a spirit of solidarity, Savaş said, "Our people are in love with their city. Those who could hold on to even a pebble did not leave and fought. The fact that our tradesmen here hold on to life and start trading is a great gain for Hatay," he said.

News Source: İHA