AKP mayor announces withdrawal
Sabahattin Kaya, the AKP mayor of Elazığ's Akçakiraz Municipality, has announced his withdrawal from the candidacy race. Kaya had previously made headlines due to the gray passport scandal.
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Ahead of the local elections to be held on March 14, Sabahattin Kaya, who was a candidate for the Akçakiraz mayoral seat in Elazığ from the AKP, announced his withdrawal from the candidacy race in a statement posted on his social media account today.
KAYA'S STATEMENT: "I DID NOT RECEIVE SUPPORT"
According to a report by ANKA, Kaya stated, "We have reached the end of our 10-year journey of service filled with success. Following consultations with the AKP Akçakiraz mayoral candidates and our town head, they expressed that they would not provide support under any conditions or circumstances and that they had reached a consensus among themselves."
TO PREVENT POLARIZATION AMONG VOTERS!
Stating that he was withdrawing from the candidacy process, Kaya said, "For the sake of our town and our party, I am removing myself from the candidacy process in order to avoid causing polarization and chaos among voters." He also wished success to the candidate the AKP will appoint and emphasized that he would continue to stand by his party and its leader.
HE WAS PREVIOUSLY INVESTIGATED REGARDING THE GRAY PASSPORT SCANDAL
It was revealed that after the Akçakiraz Municipality signed a protocol with the Immigrants' Aid and Solidarity Association in 2019, some of the individuals who were provided with gray passports were sent to Germany under the guise of a 'municipal trip' and did not return. Following the emergence of this situation, an investigation was launched by the Ministry of Interior.
PROSECUTOR ISSUED A NON-PROSECUTION DECISION
Following an investigation conducted by the Elazığ Chief Public Prosecutor's Office, a decision of non-prosecution was issued regarding Sabahattin Kaya. The decision stated that "it cannot be mentioned that the suspect caused public harm by abusing his duty."