İmamoğlu speaks in his hometown of Trabzon before the primary: 'They will try to take me out of the game'

Ekrem İmamoğlu, a candidate for the presidential primary to be held by the CHP, made his latest stop in his hometown of Trabzon.

İmamoğlu took the stage in Trabzon to address his fellow citizens. Here are the highlights from İmamoğlu's speech:

"My fellow citizens, beautiful people of the Black Sea, I embrace you with love. You are my life. No one can come between us. I am not just a son of Trabzon, but also of Ordu, Giresun, and Samsun. I am a son of the Black Sea. I love every part of this beloved homeland. I say this from the very neighborhood where I was born: I love all 86 million of our people without exception."

FROM THE BLACK SEA TO ALL OF TURKEY

"When I think of this place, the first thing that comes to mind is the first step. I am talking about the first step Mustafa Kemal took from the Black Sea. Today, we are here to spread the struggle for democracy that we have initiated to the entire Black Sea region, and from the Black Sea to all of Turkey."

"I HAD A DREAM OF BEING A GOALKEEPER FOR TRABZONSPOR"

"During the month of Ramadan, may God not give an opportunity to the wicked. I am a lucky person. I was born, raised, and educated in Trabzon. My childhood dream was to be at Trabzonspor, to be the goalkeeper instead of Şenol Güneş. It was not meant to be. But instead, at the age of 31, I served as an executive for Trabzonspor, and later I became one of the founders of our basketball team and served as vice president. I also wish success to Fatih Tekke."

"IT IS THE REPUBLIC OF TURKEY THAT MADE ME A MAYOR FROM A VILLAGE IN TRABZON TO ISTANBUL"

"Thank God I was born and raised here. Now I am serving as the mayor of the most beautiful city in the world. Do you know whose pride this is? The name of the emotion and spirit that took me from the Akçaabat village of Trabzon to the Pazarkapı neighborhood, from Trabzon to Cyprus, and from Cyprus to Istanbul is the Republic of Turkey. It is the mission that Mustafa Kemal Atatürk entrusted to the Republic that put me in that seat."

"Why is unemployment in this paradise homeland so high? Why can the youth, farmers, and tradespeople of the Black Sea not stand on their own feet? Look, we will examine all of this in depth. Why is a handful of people getting rich? Why are the youth, children, elderly, disabled, women, and men of the Black Sea in such a difficult situation? There is no investment. They do not care. There is no prosperity. The prosperity of the nation is not their concern. They are even selling off the resources of the Black Sea. They dried up the streams of Trabzon, Rize, and Giresun with hydroelectric power plant (HES) projects. Unfortunately, they failed to plan Uzunköl and Ayder strategically. They handed over the forests of Artvin and the valleys of Bayburt to mining companies. They neither cultivated the land nor managed the water. They devastated the most beautiful nature of this ancient country."

"THE WATERS OF THE BLACK SEA WILL FLOW FREELY"

"I promise you in advance. We will not allow projects that destroy our nature anywhere in Turkey. We will manage water for the public good. We will achieve great savings with rainwater projects. The waters of the Black Sea will flow freely. We will not hand over our water to a handful of profiteers. We will revive the industry and workforce of Rize. We will strengthen healthcare services and education. The entire Black Sea region is among the lowest in Turkey in terms of educational success. This is very bad."

Following the slogans, Ekrem İmamoğlu took off his jacket, rolled up his sleeves, and continued his speech.

"THEY CANNOT MAKE ME BOW MY HEAD"

İmamoğlu continued his speech with the following remarks:

"They have their own newspapers and their own trolls say it. They will try to take me out of the game. They say they will do everything in their power. They are doing dirty work. They cannot defeat me politically; they cannot make me bow my head. They supposedly want to make me bow my head through the police. They think they will use the hands of my police brothers. In other words, they supposedly want to humiliate us in front of the nation. They are trying to stir up the country with dirty schemes. They are trying to sideline me with lies, deceitful projects, and strategies spinning in their heads that defy imagination. They even want to do this before March 23 if possible. What is their concern? Are they thinking about the homeland? Are they thinking about the nation? Their only concern is their seats, their seats."

İmamoğlu's speech was frequently interrupted by the enthusiastic crowd filling the square with chants of "President İmamoğlu."