Residents of Manisa flock to funeral: Ferdi Zeyrek laid to rest

Manisa Metropolitan Mayor Ferdi Zeyrek, who lost his battle for life in the hospital after being electrocuted, has been laid to rest.

Zeyrek's body was taken from the hospital morgue in the morning hours and brought in front of the municipal building.

Residents of Manisa flocked to the funeral ceremony held for Zeyrek.

The ceremony was attended by CHP Chairman Özgür Özel, Ekrem İmamoğlu's wife Dilek Kaya İmamoğlu, and numerous party officials. Istanbul Metropolitan Mayor and CHP presidential candidate Ekrem İmamoğlu, who is currently detained at Silivri Prison, had applied to the Ministry of Justice to attend Ferdi Zeyrek's funeral but was unable to participate.

EMOTIONAL SPEECH FROM HIS WIFE

Ferdi Zeyrek's wife, Nurcan Zeyrek, spoke as follows:

"He was a man of great faith. He would say, 'I have so much work to do,' working day and night. Our hands have never parted since I was 16. He always told me, 'Nurcan, stand tall.' I will stand tall. I ask for your blessings because he was a man of great faith. I have 3 children, and I will keep my promise. I will be both a mother and a father to them. All of Manisa's prayers are with us. May God be pleased with you all."

ÖZGÜR ÖZEL COULD NOT HOLD BACK HIS TEARS

"This is the most difficult speech I have given since I was 6 years old. When our mayoral candidate fell ill in 2009, Deniz Baykal asked me to be the candidate. I asked how we could win when our vote share was 6 percent in the previous election. He said, 'Even if not in this election, you will win it.' I couldn't win it, but Ferdi did. Ferdi is more of a Manisa native than I am. He was passionately devoted to his wife, his children, and Manisa. He wanted to be the mayoral candidate for Yunus Emre. I told him, 'We will win Şehzadeler and Yunus Emre too, but I will give you the metropolitan municipality. You will win Manisa.'

I don't know what we will do now that he is gone. There is no other person who deserves to be loved as much as he did. When he started speaking, he was so sincere that listeners would hang on his every word. There isn't a single person he chatted with whose heart he didn't win. His daughters and his family are entrusted to all of us. May God give us all patience."

The ceremony in front of the municipal building has concluded. Zeyrek's body was interred in the family plot at Çatal Cemetery in the Şehzadeler district.

Condolences will be accepted at the Fatih Exhibition Hall in Cumhuriyet Square.

News Source: 12punto