Ekrem İmamoğlu becomes the new President of the Union of Municipalities of Türkiye

The TBB Assembly met in Ankara yesterday to determine the union's new leadership following the local elections.

The CHP leadership, having reached a consensus on the candidacy of IMM Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu, contacted officials from other parties before the meeting to ensure "equal and democratic representation." The AKP and MHP responded negatively to the CHP's proposal for other parties to also be included in the administration.

After receiving negative responses from the AKP and MHP, CHP Chairman Özgür Özel called IYI Party Chairman Müsavat Dervişoğlu and proposed that the IYI Party also take part in the union's executive committee.

According to a report in Birgün, Dervişoğlu and Özel reached an agreement for Nevşehir Mayor Rasim Arı to be included in the administration.

ÖZEL MEETS WITH DELEGATES

Before the TBB elections, CHP's Özel met with CHP TBB delegates at his party's headquarters. Addressing the mayors, Özel said, "We told our mayors that as of today, our people have placed 411 keys in your pockets. If we manage correctly, if we manage emotions correctly, if we manage the budget correctly, and if we are transparent and fair, the keys in your pockets are the keys to the CHP's power in the first general elections to be held."

REACTION TO TRUSTEES

The election to determine the new president of the TBB began at 15:00. Mardin Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Ahmet Türk presided over the TBB council as the oldest member. In his opening speech, Türk criticized the appointment of a trustee to the Hakkari Municipality, stating, "Unfortunately, we see today that a mortgage has been placed on the will of the people; I strongly condemn the removal of our Hakkari Mayor from office." Following Türk's remarks, some mayors in the hall reacted. Çorum Mayor Halil İbrahim Aşkın stood up and shouted, "We do not condemn it."

NEW PRESIDENT İMAMOĞLU

Ekrem İmamoğlu, the candidate for the CHP, and Ahmet Metin Genç, the candidate for the AKP, competed in the elections. The winner was Ekrem İmamoğlu, who received 515 votes out of 868 delegates. The AKP's Genç remained at 250 votes.

Adana Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Zeydan Karalar earned the right to be the first deputy president, and Bursa Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Ahmet Akın became the second deputy president.

It was reported that the substitute clerks are Haymana Mayor Levent Tunç and Arsuz Mayor Sami Üstün. The names of the executive committee members were listed as follows:

Ayşe Ünlüce, Özlem Çerçioğlu, Vahap Seçer, Abdurrahman Tutdere, Filiz Gencan Akın, Bilgihan Erdem, Hasan Akgün, Filiz Ceritoğlu Sengel, Ayşe Serra Bucak, Rasim Arı, Mehmet Kasım Gülpınar, Mesut Özarslan.

Speaking after his election, Ekrem İmamoğlu said regarding the speech his rival Ahmet Metin Genç made before the election, "I watched with admiration as he spoke here about many things he could not speak about in his own party."

Continuing his speech, İmamoğlu delivered the following messages:

"This is a period where the public has high expectations from local administrators. Regardless of which party they voted for, the preference of our 86 million citizens has been shaped. Everyone must respect one another. The 2024 local elections, in particular, gave a clear message to all political cadres. It is impossible to win elections with politics conducted as if determined to destroy one another.

'WE DO NOT ACCEPT PARTY DISCRIMINATION'

I believe that the first step we will take on this path is to accelerate steps for cooperation among ourselves. We know that a union of cooperation and solidarity will also complete this mechanism for establishing the relationship between local governments and central government. We do not accept approaches that divide citizens according to the party they voted for and divide municipal administrations according to their parties. Mechanisms that will pave the way for citizens to participate directly in local government decisions are indispensable for the new era."

Stating that commissions will be established within the TBB administration to provide higher quality services and produce quick solutions to problems, İmamoğlu concluded his words as follows:

"I will be the representative of the understanding that seeks justice wherever there is lawlessness. I am someone who knows well what it means to remain silent in the face of injustice. I promise you solidarity and justice."