Another interview scandal! He had ranked last!

CHP Gaziantep MP Hasan Öztürkmen made a statement regarding the appointment of a Ministry of Justice staff member working at the Trabzon Courthouse as a Registry Manager, despite the individual ranking at the bottom of the written exam, due to high scores awarded during the interview. 

It was learned that the personnel in question visited AKP MP Vehbi Koç in his office during the interview calendar. It was observed that Koç shared the photos taken during the visit on his social media account. 

The full statement by CHP's Öztürkmen is as follows:

“The interview scandals in public appointments show no signs of stopping. A very striking example has come from the Trabzon Courthouse. E.Y., who scored 81 and ranked first in their province in the written portion of the Ministry of Justice Personnel Promotion and Title Change Exam, was eliminated in the interview and deemed 'unsuccessful.' 

In the interview where the written exam winner was eliminated, Fatih Karabina (left in the photo), who had a score of 76, became a Registry Manager with the high score he received in the interview. The most striking part of the incident is the pose Karabina struck in Ankara a few days before the interview... 

Karabina, who is the Deputy Branch President of Büro Memur-Sen in Trabzon, known as a pro-government union, visited AKP Trabzon MP Vehbi Koç (center in the photo) in his office at the Turkish Grand National Assembly. Photos were taken during the visit. AKP's Koç shared the photo of the visit on his social media account with the message: 'I thank Büro Memur-Sen Trabzon Branch President Kenan Kuşçu (right in the photo) and Fatih Karabina, who were our guests in our Grand Assembly, for their visit.'

The timing of the visit is also remarkable. It is seen that AKP's Koç shared the photo on February 22, 2024. The dates when the oral exams for promotion were held also cover the date of the visit. Those who were successful in the oral exam held in Ankara between December 11, 2023, and March 1, 2024, were promoted in their positions. 

We leave it to the public's discretion whether the pose struck with AKP's Koç had any effect on the high grade received by Fatih Karabina, who was promoted after the oral exam (interview) despite being at the bottom of the rankings in the written exam. 

On the other hand, it is seen that there is one more person in the pose: Büro Memur-Sen Trabzon Branch President Kenan Kuşçu.

Kuşçu is also one of the civil servants who took the promotion exam at the Trabzon Courthouse. Kuşçu came in second in the written exam with 79 points and was deemed 'successful' after the interview, being promoted to the Directorate of Administrative Affairs. Instead of E.Y., who had 81 points, Kuşçu, who had 79 points, was hired for the position that only one person was to be recruited for. It seems Kuşçu performed more successfully in the interview! We leave it to the public to judge whether his success was influenced by him being the branch president of a pro-AKP union or the pose he struck with AKP MP Koç.

UNION CONFESSION

The Adana branch of Türk Büro-Sen, another pro-government union where MHP members are dominant, had clearly confessed to nepotism on its official social media account.

Following the Ministry of Justice exam results, the union had published a statement using the following expressions:

'According to the promotion interview results, 43 of our friends who won 54 director positions and were promoted to director are members of our union, namely Türk Büro-Sen. These results have shown that being a member of Türk Büro-Sen is a privilege in the eyes of our state.'

‘REFERENCE’ NOT MERIT

According to Türk Büro-Sen's statement, it seems the rate of 'privilege' in appointments changes from union to union. President Erdoğan has not kept the promise he made before the elections last year that 'we will abolish interviews in the public sector,' and interviews are continuing at full speed. Most recently, our teachers, 80 thousand of whom are waiting for appointments, were disappointed by the Ministry of National Education's decision to appoint 20 thousand. Even more controversial was the decision to continue the nepotism system called interviews in teacher appointments as well. The Ministry of National Education announced that 50 percent KPSS and 50 percent oral exam scores will be applied in appointments. 

Despite his promises, the government, which takes 'references' rather than merit as a criterion, is apparently determined not to take a step back from interviews. We are also determined to be the voice of hundreds of thousands of interview victims and to abolish this system of nepotism. This cannot go on like this! It will not!”