Detained Ataşehir Mayor Onursal Adıgüzel reacts to council members switching to AKP

Detained Ataşehir Mayor Onursal Adıgüzel has reacted to the decision of six council members, who were elected to the Ataşehir Municipal Council on the CHP list in the March 31, 2024 local elections, to join the AKP.

In a message shared on his social media account, Adıgüzel stated that the people of Ataşehir demonstrated a clear will at the ballot box on March 31. Adıgüzel recalled that he was elected mayor with 139 thousand votes and a 56.39 percent share, and that the CHP received 53.92 percent of the vote in the Municipal Council elections.

Arguing that party changes should be seen as an attempt to alter the political balance after the election, Adıgüzel stated, "The will of the nation is too sacred to be a subject of negotiation."

Those who make the favor of our nation a subject of backroom deals for their own personal gain have betrayed the people of Ataşehir.

In his statement, Adıgüzel noted that he has been in Silivri for 160 days, adding that regardless of where he is, he considers it an inseparable part of his duty to uphold the will expressed by the people of Ataşehir at the ballot box.

Stating that "the will of Ataşehir belongs to the people of Ataşehir," Adıgüzel emphasized that the picture that emerged in the local elections cannot be undone by positions, political calculations, or party changes.