Ekrem İmamoğlu's response to Erdoğan on Istanbul: 'They are forcing the nation to live through an Interregnum'

Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality (İBB) Mayor and CHP presidential candidate Ekrem İmamoğlu has responded to President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's statement at the opening of the Atatürk Airport National Garden, where Erdoğan said, “Istanbul is the apple of our eye. Our hearts will never consent to this cherished city experiencing another Interregnum.”

"THEY HAVE SLAUGHTERED CITIES"

İmamoğlu, who is being held at Silivri Prison, replied to Erdoğan's words in a post shared via social media. İmamoğlu stated the following:

“It is tragic for the Republic of Turkey to constantly hear sentences of slander, malice, and hatred from the language of those who govern our country. This mentality, which strives to cancel elections it has lost, attempts to seize municipalities it could not win through judicial means and blackmail-fueled transfers, and dares to accuse its opponent of terrorism and espionage while declaring those who vote for them as traitors, is causing damage to our state and nation that is difficult to describe.”

"WE WILL PUT AN END TO INTERREGNUMS"

Referring to Erdoğan's remarks regarding Istanbul, İmamoğlu criticized the mindset that fills the city with concrete, destroys green spaces, opens military and agricultural lands for development, and cancels drinking water dam projects. Stating that “they are slaughtering Istanbul,” İmamoğlu said:

“This mindset, which has failed to solve urban transformation in the 20 years since the 1999 earthquake, blocks new metro projects, halts existing ones, impoverishes people, forgets its fellow citizens, and cannot emerge from halls and palaces, is forcing our state and nation to live through an Interregnum.”

"WINNING ISTANBUL IS A DUTY FOR US"

İmamoğlu stated that they had won Istanbul and that great favor had been shown for this, and thanked his nation. He used the following expressions:

“However, with the favor of our nation:

We won the election by a margin of 13,600 votes,

We won the election by a margin of 806,000 votes,

We won the election by a margin of 1,100,000 votes, and we saved Istanbul. We are grateful to our nation for entrusting us with this duty.”

"MAY GOD PROTECT OUR NATION FROM BAD LANGUAGE"

At the end of his statement, drawing attention to the language used by Erdoğan and government officials, İmamoğlu said, “May Almighty God protect our nation from bad language, from those who say ‘we betrayed Istanbul,’ and from those who force Turkey to live through an Interregnum. Amen.”

News Source: 12punto