Ekrem İmamoğlu responds to the question 'Are you a candidate?': 'One cannot prosper through oppression and tyranny'

Emphasizing that we are living in a period where the public's right to information is being obstructed due to government pressure, İmamoğlu said, "God forbid, we haven't heard of a radio broadcaster being sent to a cold place yet. Access to news is restricted; sometimes journalists who publish it are detained. There is nothing wrong with someone who conducts an interview and reports the same news in a good way, but if they publish another interview and it evolves into something bad, or depending on the medium where it is published, they end up inside. It is such a strange thing."

"ONE CANNOT PROSPER THROUGH OPPRESSION AND TYRANNY"

İmamoğlu continued as follows:

"In other words, we are unfortunately dealing with empty matters. This situation is overwhelming us a bit. No matter how much you try to suppress, force, or corner people, humanity has always found a way, an exit for itself. Sometimes the world's most important revolutions have formed that way, and sometimes the most cornered societies have suddenly carried the situation to the beginning of a leap forward. I hope that we, all together, will overcome these difficult days on behalf of our country. Because one cannot prosper through oppression and tyranny. On the contrary, people are actually more productive when they are happy and peaceful, they become a stronger society, the economy is better, and they are positively affected in every aspect." 

"ONLY ERDOĞAN BELIEVED IT"

Stating that "none of what I have said has a political basis," İmamoğlu said, "I mean, without saying 'this one, that one, or the other one,' this is how it has always been in life. Ultimately, if injustices are being discussed this much today, I feel ashamed when I see the efforts of certain people who take a pen in their hand and try to break it as they please, becoming, so to speak, the decision-makers of this tyranny. Meanwhile, in the country today, while supposedly dealing with these things, gangs are running wild. If I may say so, whoever wants to is acting as they please. Instructions are flying everywhere."

It is unclear who holds the power. It is such a strange agenda. On one hand, economic difficulties, rents, prices in the market, a Türkiye in a framework where we can no longer understand what people's income actually means... I think only Erdoğan saw such a process years ago when he said 'Interest is the cause, inflation is the result.' Because I think he was the only one who believed in that statement and he was the only one who foresaw today." 

Noting that the economic situation in Türkiye has no parallel in the world, İmamoğlu said the following:

“I wish the economy were in good shape so that we could compete under better economic conditions. There is a great effort to build a society that accepts everything the government says and voices that same sentiment. This is reflected in the press, it is being projected onto politicians, or the business world, or civil society, and so on...

It continues like this. But none of these have actually worked throughout history. They have devastated an era, sacrificed an era, but they have not worked. I am sure they will not work today either. In this sense, while I celebrate the World Radio Day of our radio broadcaster friends, I also hope that your voices will never be silenced or obstructed, and that you will always be able to express what is in your hearts...

Of course, like every field, this one has its own ethical rules. I hope we will all live to see days when your voices are heard loudly in accordance with those ethical rules. In this sense, I will continue to support your journey and to fight against injustice and lawlessness in our country, where there are attempts to silence voices, regardless of the topic or the issue.

“THEY TURN AROUND AND SAY, ‘HEY, YOU ARE THE MAYOR OF ISTANBUL, GO FIND A SOLUTION TO THAT’”

Now, sometimes they turn around and say, ‘Hey, you are the Mayor of Istanbul, go find a solution to that,’ and so on... As if this issue is outside of our scope, there are some sharp opinions. Let me state that I do not agree with them. While there is no other city in the world that has been such a center of attraction as Istanbul—which has been the case for over 2,000 years—the Mayor of such a city must be concerned with Gaza in Palestine, in addition to its own problems; must be concerned with Syria; must be concerned with the process regarding the European Union; and in this city, which hosts the most consulates in the world, must follow, engage with, and express opinions on the processes related to democracy, justice, and the economy of every country in the world. It must establish cooperation mechanisms. Turkey must be present on different global platforms, and even be a founder and leader of different platforms. I say all of this not outside of my potential political duties or potential political journeys, but in my capacity as the Mayor of Istanbul. Moreover, I also hold the position of President of the Union of Municipalities of Turkey (TBB). After all, a portion of all the problems existing in our country is there.

"WHO WILL BE HELD ACCOUNTABLE FOR THIS?"

By appointing trustees to municipalities, by conducting operations against municipalities... I mean, someone might be sitting here. They are living their life. Someone says to them, ‘Come and be our council member.’ They become one. They are a citizen. They have a duty. They either work somewhere with social security, have a job somewhere, or are registered with Bağ-Kur. Their address is known, their home is known. Then you write someone on the council member list. You send it to the Supreme Election Council (YSK). You say, ‘This is my council member list.’ You know; if there is a discrepancy there, they give you time for those names on that list. They say, ‘These cannot be candidates. Bring names to replace them.’ If you bring them, they are added; if you don't, that spot remains empty. These processes are passed. The election is won. 10-11 months later, 12 months later, the citizen is taken into custody, asking ‘Why did you win?’

Immediately, a nice term: ‘terrorist!’ Hey, if they were a terrorist, why were they on the street? Why were they going to and from their home? Why were they benefiting from every opportunity as our citizen? They get on a bus, they have an ID, they have an Istanbulkart. Or they travel, they have gone abroad and returned, etc. Can such a thing be? Can there be such a conscience, such justice? Who will be held accountable for this? Who will mend the feelings of these people's children?

In this regard, I hope we will soon experience days when all these negativities come to an end. My determination on this path is high. Our faith is absolute. And we will never stray from our ideals. We will fight against injustice and lawlessness. Whoever is subjected to injustice or lawlessness, regardless of whether they are 'my side' or 'their side,' even if they are from a rival political party, I will continue to fight for that person and their children, not just today, but in the future as well. I give this promise everywhere. Let me give it here as well. I will not back down from this. I will never be an advocate of 'justice according to me.' I express this especially in places where I interact with the press or face the public, as a matter of honor, integrity, and humanity, so that each of you can bear witness to it in the future.

RESPONSE TO THE QUESTION 'ARE YOU A CANDIDATE?'

Answering questions from radio broadcasters following his evaluation speech, İmamoğlu responded to the question, 'There will be a primary election on March 23 for the presidential candidacy within the Republican People's Party. Are you a candidate? Could Mr. Mansur be a candidate? They say he won't be, but we don't fully know what came out of that meeting of yours. Are there any other candidates?' as follows: 

We held a very valuable meeting. We are managing every stage through our internal party processes. Since I spoke with a few journalist friends yesterday and today, I can express the same things here. Ultimately, Mr. Mansur has a different perspective. He has a view that 'it is too early. It is too early for candidacy. Therefore, it is also too early for a primary.' Thus, he expressed that he does not intend to be a candidate under these conditions. The process has been clarified. Now the details of the process will be announced. Once it is announced, we will share with the public how we will proceed and what path and route we will define. This means that the details of the process will likely be announced and shared with the public this weekend. Our roadmap will be clear next week. I believe that our party is courageously taking a step on a path that holds very important opportunities for Türkiye. This is a democratic revolution. It is very rare in the world. For the first time in our country, the party members will determine a presidential candidate. I do not agree with the 'too late' or 'too early' debate. This can change according to conditions, time, and the spirit of the times.

Unfortunately, there are many issues that need to be fought today. If there were few issues, perhaps something different could be considered with little time left. But there are many issues, many items on the agenda. Our country needs a large cadre. This cadre must consist of the nation's children. It must be very inclusive. All these preparations, technical aspects, content, national policies... There are many matters in every field. Therefore, I think it is the right time. Moreover, the government can change its mind at any moment. Yes, it is true that there are 3 years until the normal time. But you might look and see that they could hold an election next year. If they found the opportunity, they might even do it this year. And we already want it to happen as soon as possible so that the flow of our country can change. And we do not want to be a country that misses opportunities. In a process where technology, informatics, and artificial intelligence are entering every environment with such extreme speed in the world, we are dealing with arrests, the judiciary, lawlessness, injustice, inflation... Even in countries experiencing war in the world, they are experiencing single-digit inflation, yet we have not been able to lower inflation for almost 1.5-2 years despite the measures. I know there are people within the government who are well-intentioned and working hard on this. But they are either unaware that the sole reason for this is the problem of lack of trust in this country, or they are afraid to express it. It cannot go on like this.

In this sense, we believe that at the right time, with the right model, we will reach a legitimacy that will carry the public's emotions to the highest level and be embraced by the public... We believe that a ground where the base of the Republican People's Party determines its candidate and the initiative of 1.6 million members is put forward will also gain a legitimacy that the public will largely accept. We also believe that this legitimacy will acquire a spirit that encompasses the entire opposition over time through different methods and procedures. In that context, let me state that our party and our Chairman have drawn a correct roadmap and that I support this roadmap. I think everything will be clarified within a week at the latest. After that, we will all be following a warmer, more fluid agenda together.

'I WISH ERDOĞAN COULD HAVE DONE WHAT HE SAID'

İmamoğlu also responded to the question of whether AKP Chairman and President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan kept his promises regarding making moves to increase the powers of local administrations during the period when he transitioned from being a mayor to a prime minister, as follows: 

"I wish he could have done what he said; our country would have benefited greatly from it. Local governments are actually gaining strength all over the world. Because their strengthening ensures that services at the local level become higher quality. When they become higher quality, it increases the quality of life for society. In other words, the whole country benefits from this. There is no need to reinvent anything. The entire world's journey is in this direction. It is very interesting; the power and will of local governments are far below what they were in the early 2000s; on the contrary, they have evolved into an oppressive method and path. In fact, in every meeting, an issue is discussed, 'Let's handle this at the ministry, let's solve it there...' I mean, the zoning of Istanbul, the streets, the avenues... Was this society living through these? It was not. But in the last 20 years, through the ministry, there is almost no empty space left in Istanbul. Through the ministry, through the central government... In this sense, add Kanal Istanbul to this, add other things as well. That is one dimension. Another dimension is that they started to prevent us from using the powers we already had. The simplest example is the issue called UKOME... There is no one left in Istanbul who doesn't know it; I mean, it turns out there is something called UKOME. Almost even our primary school children know every detail of it. Why? Because they made these into issues. They sat down, and from the moment Ekrem İmamoğlu took office, they announced all the labels to Turkey through Istanbul and through us, from 'lame duck' to 'shaking us down.' Actually, their focus was Istanbul all along. But our country is suffering great harm from this. Unfortunately, it has evolved into a situation that is 180 degrees the opposite. The President has never, ever kept his word on this matter."