Notable remarks from Tunç Soyer's farewell speech

İzmir Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Tunç Soyer, who was not renominated in the local elections on March 31, 2024, spoke at the final meeting of the municipal council for the 2019-2024 term.

Soyer, who bid farewell to the members at the last council meeting he attended, made notable statements.

Soyer said, "Final council meetings are being held all over Turkey, but none of them have this kind of harmony. I am proud of this. I am honored. As a Mayor elected on March 31, 2019, with 58 percent of the vote, I began to work for this city with heart, soul, and passion. Throughout my 5-year term, I never stopped saying these two words: 'Love for İzmir,' and our 4.5 million citizens put their hearts into this promise. With the love we have for this city, we completed 165 projects included in our election manifesto at a record rate of 87 percent. We added 15 major projects on top of that. We achieved this together. Two weeks from now, I will leave this office and be promoted to the lifelong office of the heart that the people of İzmir have given me. First and foremost, I would like to express my gratitude to all the people of İzmir who never lost their courage and hope despite the economic crisis, the pandemic, earthquakes, fires, floods, and the tsunami disaster. This office of the heart, which İzmir does not bestow upon every politician, is the greatest award for me."

"WE EITHER FOUND A WAY OR WE MADE A WAY"

Stating that they experienced one of the most difficult periods in the history of İzmir municipal administration over the last five years, Soyer said, "While costs were multiplying day by day, the economic crisis and poverty were deepening, and İzmir continued to give forty and receive one, we never made excuses. We leavened scarcity with abundance; we produced results. While doing this, we did not take shortcuts. We did not hand over İzmir to those chasing rent. With the reputation we have in the international arena and the 'İzmir stance,' we brought over 1 billion Euros in financing to İzmir from international financial institutions. Every year, we allocated 40 percent of our budget to investments and our vision projects that will carry İzmir further. We have made great strides in solving İzmir's 50-year-old gangrenous problems and secured its next 50 years. We brought revolutionary projects to İzmir."

"THE İZMİR METROPOLITAN MUNICIPALITY COUNCIL HAS BECOME TURKEY’S MOST DEMOCRATIC COUNCIL"

Underlining that all investments must continue without slowing down, Soyer continued as follows:

"I hope the administration after us will protect this entire legacy that we have woven stitch by stitch for 5 years. May they take over our work and the institutional accumulation of our municipality and carry it even further. Because these are not our projects. They are İzmir's projects. They are the will of the 4.5 million people in our city. Throughout my 5-year term, one of my most important guides was this council, which was elected by the votes of the people of İzmir. I have always been honored to serve İzmir together with you, our esteemed council members, and to be among you. And I will continue to be. Because this roof is the roof of İzmir's local government democracy. This Council is the voice of the people of İzmir. You have all individually become that voice. Of course, we had differences of opinion and debates here.

There came a day when we tired each other out. But no matter the circumstances, we always upheld the fundamental values that brought us together. In this council, where the will of our nation is manifested unconditionally, we have always stood on the side of democracy. That is why there came a day when we made very difficult decisions together. We worked shoulder to shoulder. This city and we, its elected representatives, have become the unconditional guardians of our Republic and the Republican revolutions. Although it is not always easy to accept our shortcomings and mistakes, we have seen how achieving this made our decisions more beneficial. We have seen how valuable it is for decisions that reach their final form through discussion to mature with common sense. In short, we understood that our differences are not elements that separate us, but rather elements that enrich us. We discovered that the love of country, the love of the homeland, is not solely in our own monopoly, that there can be different ways of loving the homeland, and that learning this from each other is the key to both peace and prosperity. Therefore, this council has likely become Turkey's most democratic council. That is why each of us is filled with the peace and pride of having achieved this as this term comes to a close. I express my gratitude to all our council members who made it possible for us to achieve this. This success has been shaped by the collective effort and common sense of each of these council members. Therefore, it has turned into a shared success story. If you ask me, this is the greatest achievement of our council, which has been serving for five years."

"ALWAYS THE REPUBLIC, ALWAYS DEMOCRACY, ALWAYS İZMİR"

Reminding that the public tests politicians every five years in every election, Soyer said, "However, that test does not end after being elected. Every morning when we wake up, we test ourselves with our conscience. The other name for democracy is common sense, its adjective is honesty, and its verb is to work. If even one of these is missing, a politician's conscience aches, and it should ache. As a brother of yours who has dedicated his life to democracy and its values, I have never stopped testing myself with these principles every day. And I will not stop from now on. And today, as I make my final speech in this council, I am leaving here with a clear conscience. I know that even though our duty ends, we will continue to follow up on every seed we have sown in İzmir and continue our struggle. Our line until today was the İzmir Metropolitan Municipality. From now on, our front is the heart of the nation. It is all of Turkey. In the new century of our Republic, we will continue our struggle to crown Turkey with democracy. Because in this council, we represent the unconditional sovereignty of the nation as much as the political parties we belong to. The Republic is our people's trust in us. Democracy is everyone's blessing. 86 million, hand in hand, shoulder to shoulder, with great enthusiasm and determination, we will continue to walk and protect that trust. Always the Republic, always democracy, always İzmir."

News Source: 12punto