Kasım Gülpınar responds to claims he will 'join the AKP'
Şanlıurfa Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Kasım Gülpınar, who has been serving as an independent since resigning from the New Welfare Party (Yeniden Refah Partisi), has broken his silence regarding claims that he will join the AKP.
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Mehmet Kasım Gülpınar, who was elected Metropolitan Municipality Mayor from the New Welfare Party in the March 31 elections in Şanlıurfa, resigned from his party on September 2 in a surprise decision.
Claims that Gülpınar would join the AKP became a major topic of discussion. Speaking to journalist İsmail Saymaz about the matter, Gülpınar stated that he has not held any meetings with the AKP.
Saymaz shared the following in a post on his social media account:
"I spoke with Şanlıurfa Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Mehmet Kasım Gülpınar. Gülpınar categorically denies the claim that he will join the AK Party. He says, 'Not only is there no move, there hasn't even been a meeting between us.'"
I spoke with Şanlıurfa Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Mehmet Kasım Gülpınar. Gülpınar categorically denies the claim that he will join the AK Party. “Not only is there no move, there hasn't even been a meeting between us,” he says.
— İsmail Saymaz (@ismailsaymaz) August 12, 2025