Striking message from Ekrem İmamoğlu: 'Any attempt to change the outcome of the ballot box is a coup'

Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality (IMM) Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu addressed the tens of thousands gathered in Sivas from his cell in Silivri. Stating, "You could not defeat us at the ballot box, and you will not be able to. You could not take us captive with coup methods, and you will not be able to," İmamoğlu said, "They think they can take us captive with a coup-oriented policy based on judicial traps, threats, blackmail, and hostage-taking. They can only take captive those pathetic individuals who have lost their honor, dignity, and love for their country and nation, not us."

In his letter read by Doğan, İmamoğlu said the following:

“Dear people of Sivas; ladies, gentlemen, dear children, youth, hello! Greetings to Sivas, the pioneering city of our national struggle and our Republic; the land of poets, bards, and brave hearts. I greet you all with love and respect. I embrace each of you with longing. Sivas is the city where this great nation declared its determination to live free and independent to the whole world. It was declared here that from now on, only the national will would prevail in these lands. It was declared here that the nation would not bow down to the arbitrary decisions of any government not based on the national will. The principles set forth by Gazi Mustafa Kemal Atatürk and those who walked the same path as him in Sivas in September 1919 are still valid and valuable today. Today, just like the delegates of the Sivas Congress, we say: 'We have not bowed down to the arbitrary decisions of a government not based on the national will, and we will not bow down.'"

"PRESIDENT ERDOĞAN WAS NOT ARRESTED EVEN FOR A SINGLE DAY"

“Any attempt to invalidate or change the national will that emerges from the ballot box through arbitrary decisions, no matter who it comes from or how, is a coup. Having mayors who have taken office with the votes of millions of our citizens arrested through a handful of judiciary members who have entered the service of politics is the very definition of a coup. Having the diploma of an opponent, who has defeated him 4 times and has been nominated with the votes of millions to defeat him for the 5th time, cancelled through unlawful means after 30 years is the very definition of a coup. When President Erdoğan was a mayor, he was tried with the same accusations directed at me today, but he was not arrested for even a single day. Because that is what the law and democracy require. Seeking refuge in law and democracy when it comes to oneself, while suspending law and democracy for one's opponent, is the very definition of a coup.”

"THEY THINK THEY CAN TAKE US CAPTIVE"

“The government has clearly revealed that it has no intention of allowing free and fair elections and that it is eager to force itself upon the nation by disregarding the national will. As our nation sees the kind of judicial trap set against us and resists the coup mentality in every square, the government has also started to rely on 'coup-oriented political' methods. They think they can take us captive with a coup-oriented policy based on judicial traps, threats, blackmail, and hostage-taking. They can only take captive those pathetic individuals who have lost their honor, dignity, and love for their country and nation, not us. They can only turn such people into their puppets. We, the imprisoned mayors and administrators, draw our strength and courage from our righteousness and our nation. You could not defeat us at the ballot box, and you will not be able to. You could not take us captive with coup methods, and you will not be able to.”

"YOU WILL NOT BE ABLE TO TAKE İNAN GÜNEY CAPTIVE EITHER"

“You will not be able to take our Beyoğlu Mayor, the true and brave son of Sivas, İnan Güney, captive either. We will all emerge from those dungeons with our heads held high and our consciences clear, and the nation will make you pay the price for these actions at the ballot box. The nation is great. It grabs those who see themselves in a giant mirror, those who do not play politics honorably, and those who do not recognize the law by their ears and buries them in the ballot box. It will be the same again. Against the rule of a handful of people, we will establish the rule of the nation. In this heavenly country, we will live together in brotherhood, without suffering from the cost of living and without worrying about the future. We will ensure justice and freedom for everyone, everywhere, not just for some. No power has been able to turn us from our path, and it will not be able to. Just like you, my faith, courage, and hope are infinite. A handful of people will lose, the nation will win. Everything will be very beautiful. Ekrem İmamoğlu. Silivri Dungeon.”