Striking May 14 confession from Ekrem İmamoğlu: 'It wasn't done, it wasn't wanted at that time'

Ekrem İmamoğlu, who was re-elected as Mayor of Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality (IMM) in the March 31 Local Elections, evaluated the election results.

Speaking to İsmail Saymaz from Sözcü, İmamoğlu pointed to the 'change' at his party's 38th Ordinary Congress and said, “Every party that did not change melted away and lost in this election. The party that did change achieved significant success. The CHP's change process is an important component of this success.”

Speaking about his potential candidacy for President in the 2028 general elections, İmamoğlu stated, “I am where I am right now. We have a lot of work to do. I am entirely focused on that.”

In response to Saymaz's question, "Do you think the CHP won, or did the AK Party lose?", İmamoğlu replied:

“Before the May 14 general election, I had said, 'We can only lose this election, the government cannot win it.' And we lost. I looked at this election with the same mindset: we can only win or lose it ourselves. Of course, the economic crisis had an impact. But the CHP definitely won the election.”

MAY 14 CONFESSION: THERE WERE MANY MISTAKES

In response to the question, “Why did the public, who did not give you the presidency ten months ago, make the CHP the top party?”, İmamoğlu replied:

“What did the CHP do to achieve this? There were many shortcomings and mistakes in that election. I have said this before, but it is not right for me to discuss the details alone. There are pages of this that need to be discussed within our internal mechanisms. Perhaps there were pages that were no longer possible, that the opposition needed to discuss among itself. But it wasn't done, it wasn't wanted at that time. This election could have been won ten months ago. That is why I say we lost the election back then. There were many mistakes. Today, there are very few mistakes. The process was managed with so few mistakes that they wouldn't even fill the fingers of one hand. Actually, the light of the matter is singular: science and data were utilized. I don't read the issue through candidate preference. I read it in terms of the system and the way of walking the path. There is always someone better than the best candidate. But so few mistakes were made... That is the difference.”

CRITICISM OF THE AKP

In response to the question, "Why did the AKP lose?", İmamoğlu said:

"The AK Party is experiencing a serious problem regarding its process of being a party. Is the AK Party a party? Are its boards or committees working? Or is it just a structure under the President's office? Why am I saying this? I am complaining as a citizen. I am complaining as a Metropolitan Mayor.

Two parties talk. The reflex of not talking is not new in the AK Party. It has existed for a long time, but it has evolved much further in the 5-10 year period. Now, even the country's governor cannot talk to you, nor can the bureaucrat or the minister.

This structure has become disconnected from the citizens.

If it hadn't disconnected, why wouldn't the Beylikdüzü metro document be signed for 18 months? It's just a pen, nothing else. You are not guaranteeing anything, you are not doing anything. Is this done?

This much disconnection and behaviors like this have certainly affected the AK Party's success. Let them address more than this themselves. I will only speak from what I have experienced."

RESPONSE TO THE QUESTION ABOUT KURUM

Responding to the question, "What kind of opponent was Murat Kurum?", İmamoğlu said, "He was a good opponent, that's all."

News Source: 12punto