Mustafa Bozbey was arrested: CHP will not field a candidate in the Bursa deputy mayor election

The political agenda in Bursa is quite active, as it is across Turkey. The municipal council is heading to the polls today to determine a new deputy mayor to replace CHP Metropolitan Mayor Mustafa Bozbey, who was arrested and suspended from office following an operation conducted on March 31.

After a total of 30 people, including Mustafa Bozbey, were arrested last week, the Ministry of Interior temporarily suspended Bozbey from his duties. The Bursa Governorship appointed Deputy Governor Hulusi Doğan to ensure that municipal affairs would not be disrupted until the election day.

While the deputy mayor election is scheduled to begin at 11:00, the political distribution in the 106-seat council is noteworthy. The People's Alliance (Cumhur İttifakı) has 59 members, while the CHP has 41 seats.

The distribution by party in the Bursa Metropolitan Municipal Council is as follows:

• AKP: 50
• CHP: 41
• MHP: 8
• İYİ Party: 3
• BBP: 1
• New Welfare Party (Yeniden Refah Partisi): 1
• Turkey Alliance Party (Türkiye İttifakı Partisi): 1
• Independent: 1

For the deputy mayor election, the AKP side had announced that its candidate was Metropolitan Municipal Council AKP Group Spokesperson Şahin Biba.

While the name of Metropolitan Municipal Council AKP Group Spokesperson Şahin Biba stands out as the candidate for deputy mayor from the AKP front, the rivalry between the parties before the election is drawing attention.

CHP WILL NOT FIELD A CANDIDATE

According to the information obtained, the CHP will not field a candidate in the deputy mayor election at the Bursa Metropolitan Municipality.

The CHP organization held a march to the Bursa Metropolitan Municipality building. Tense moments occurred during the protest, which saw high participation, and a scuffle broke out between the police and the group.

Following the scuffle, CHP Bursa Provincial Chair Nihat Yeşiltaş made a statement to members of the press.

Stating that the police intervened with pepper spray, Yeşiltaş reacted to the events by saying, “We do not consider this election legitimate. The election was held on March 31, 2024. Bursa elected Mustafa Bozbey. At the point we have reached, an operation has been carried out to seize the municipality. The election will be held inside, but our municipal council members are not being allowed in. Such a thing has never been seen. What kind of state are we living in? Who were these barricades set up against by those who put them here? If you have the courage, let's put a ballot box on Sunday and let the people of Bursa decide. Do you have the courage? Even the AKP's district chairs are entering, while they set up barricades against our elected colleagues here.”

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A CALL FOR PROTEST HAD BEEN MADE

A move to mobilize the public came from the CHP side. Bursa CHP Provincial Chair Nihat Yeşiltaş made the following call before the election:

“To ensure that the will of the people is not ignored in the Bursa Metropolitan Deputy Mayor election; we are meeting in front of the Bursa Metropolitan Municipality on Thursday, April 9, at 10:30, and we are standing up for our will.”

News Source: 12punto