Imamoglu kicks off election campaign with a jab at rivals: They will be left breathless halfway through

Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality (IMM) Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu has kicked off his local election campaign.

Holding his first rally alongside CHP Sile Mayoral Candidate Ozgur Kabadayi, Imamoglu addressed the citizens.

Stating that they have set out to win the election, Imamoglu said, "We will win the election with our smiling faces. And we will never give up on this. We will win with our courtesy, our love, and our respect. We will win the election not with perceptions, but with facts. You will see; we will win together, heart to heart. Our cooperation will grow. We will win all together. We will win as a nation. In Sile, not only Mayor Ozgur, but all the people of Sile will win. In Istanbul, not only Mayor Ekrem, but all of Istanbul will win. And we will create such an order, such a process, all together."

"ARE WE READY TO BREAK A VOTING RECORD?"

Stating, "We do not distinguish any of our people from one another," Imamoglu asked, "We will not say, 'This is my party member, that is another party's member.' I am a true child of my party. I am a member of the Republican People's Party (CHP). I love my Republic, my dear flag very much. I love my nation, my state very much. I love Mustafa Kemal Ataturk very much. We represent such a culture. But we do not say, 'This party, that party.' We are seeking the votes of those who vote for all parties in this city. We are seeking the votes of the 'Istanbul Alliance.' I am seeking to win the votes of 16 million people. Are we ready to break a voting record together in every corner of Istanbul in this election?"

"WE INVITE YOU TO MOBILIZATION"

Using the phrase, "My dear friends, my valuable fellow citizens, we invite you, especially my fellow citizens in Sile, to a mobilization," Imamoglu said, "We invite all the people of Sile to the mobilization of this election in a way that has never been seen before. We will work all together. Sir, sometimes they say to me: 'I worked very hard for you.' Not for me; who am I working for right now? I am working for you. I am also working for myself. I am also working for my family. But I am working for the 16 million people of this city."

"THEY WILL BE LEFT BREATHLESS HALFWAY THROUGH"

Taking a jab at his rivals without naming them, Imamoglu said, "I will work very hard so as not to let you down. I will work as hard as a bee. You will see; they will get tired of chasing me. They will be left breathless halfway through."

"IT MEANS NOTHING TO ME"

Imamoglu continued as follows:

"Perhaps, perhaps bad things will come to their minds. They will talk bad things about Ekrem. They will do such immoral things. They will deal with lies, falsehoods, and deceit. Honestly, it means nothing to me. Bad words belong to the speaker. Bad words do not stick to us, they do not suit us. No matter how badly they speak, we will not speak badly about them. Therefore, take our greetings to them from us. Take our greetings to our fellow citizens, to our neighbors. We want their votes and we will work together. We want votes not only for our Sile Mayor, not only for me as the Metropolitan Mayor, for Mr. Ozgur and Ekrem Imamoglu, but also for the municipal council memberships. Your votes will increase our power in the Metropolitan Municipality. I want each of you to state this specifically."

REACTION TO ERDOGAN

In his speech, reacting to the words of AKP Chairman and President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Imamoglu said, "You vote for us or not; you will receive service from us. What does he say? He says, 'If you vote for us, you will receive service.' Isn't that so? Where does our nation make a person who tries to lecture our nation, who tries to threaten our nation, regret it? They make them regret it at the ballot box, at the ballot box. You will make him regret these words."

KANAL ISTANBUL STATEMENT: THEY WANT TO DO IT BUT CANNOT SAY IT

Imamoglu said the following:

"And it has been 100 years since our nation abandoned the mentality of lecturing the nation, 100 years. There has been a Republic in this country for 100 years. There is a growing democracy in this country for 100 years. We will grow it even more. For 100 years, there have been 16 million Istanbulites and 86 million citizens of the Republic of Turkey who say, 'Sovereignty belongs unconditionally to the nation.' Therefore, this nation does not bow down to those who try to lecture the nation. It does what is necessary. You will also do what is necessary. Support us so strongly that... They cannot even put what is in their hearts into words. They want to build Kanal Istanbul; it is entirely emotional... But they cannot say it. Give them such a democratic slap that, in the election, at the ballot box, the idea of Kanal Istanbul never crosses their minds again."