Mansur Yavaş makes first move against investigation authorization

The Ministry of Interior had granted authorization for an investigation into Ankara Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Mansur Yavaş and several municipal council members, alleging that they "failed to implement court decisions" regarding certain zoning plan changes previously made in Ankara's İncek neighborhood. According to a report by Cumhuriyet, following the decision, Mansur Yavaş initiated legal proceedings and filed an appeal with the Council of State.

According to information in the petition, it was argued that the grounds forming the basis for the investigation authorization lacked a legal foundation. In a 2023 report, experts commissioned by the Ministry of Interior's Inspection Board stated that the zoning plan changes made during the Melih Gökçek era were not in the public interest and prioritized rent-seeking in a manner contrary to urban planning principles and the law. The expert report stated that the decisions taken were devoid of objective and technical justifications and aimed solely at increasing the economic value of the relevant properties.

However, it was noted that the decision was criticized on the grounds that the Ministry of Interior did not take these assessments by its own commissioned experts into account and granted the investigation authorization despite them. Furthermore, the report emphasized that the zoning plan change violated the Regulation on the Preparation of Spatial Plans.

Another notable point regarding the investigation authorization process involved allegations concerning the inspectors involved in the case. The application pointed out that the same inspector had previously taken responsibility in investigations opened against Mansur Yavaş and that there were allegations of contact between the inspector and former mayor Melih Gökçek within the scope of these files. In this context, it was recalled that Mansur Yavaş had filed a criminal complaint against Melih Gökçek and his son Osman Gökçek.

Another significant point in the petition was the information that, as of March 10, 2024, there were no unimplemented court decisions regarding the relevant municipal council resolutions. It was stated that the municipality had re-evaluated and fulfilled all procedures by taking judicial decisions into account. Despite this, the inclusion of dozens of transactions within the scope of the investigation authorization based on a single court decision was criticized, and the disregard for a favorable decision by the Council of State was also met with reaction.

In the petition submitted to the Council of State, Mansur Yavaş stated that they had not provided unfair gain or caused public loss during his mayoral term, and that, on the contrary, they had blocked zoning rents that had formed in the past. It was noted that during the period for which the investigation was authorized, CHP members were in the minority in the council, and the relevant decisions were taken primarily with the votes of AKP and MHP council members.

News Source: 12punto