He switched to the AKP, and his first order of business was to empty the coffers!

Keçiören Mayor Mesut Özarslan left the Republican People's Party (CHP) last February and joined the Justice and Development Party (AKP) with the participation of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. Following Özarslan's change of party, a remarkable shift occurred in the municipality's financial statements.

According to Sözcü, it is noteworthy that the municipal administration has focused on entertainment, concert, and festival expenditures in the new term, with a total of 332.7 million liras spent on such events in the first half of the year. It was stated that this expenditure increased by 914 percent compared to the same period last year. In the first six months of 2025, only 31 million liras in spending had been recorded for the same items.

While the municipality's massive budget increase for concerts and celebrations has become a subject of public debate, some sources recalled that legal investigations were launched due to similar expenditures made by opposition municipalities. This generous attitude displayed by the municipal administration regarding entertainment and festivals has drawn criticism from the opposition.

The same reports emphasized that no resources were allocated during this period to projects of high social importance, such as disaster preparedness and the empowerment of women. This situation has brought discussions regarding the prioritization of public resources to the forefront.