Mansur Yavaş and Müsavat Dervişoğlu meet: Striking alliance message

Ankara Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Mansur Yavaş met with IYI Party Chairman Müsavat Dervişoğlu at the IYI Party Headquarters. The two responded to questions from members of the press following the meeting.

Responding to a question regarding allegations that an operation would be conducted against the Ankara Metropolitan Municipality, Yavaş said, "We have already made our statement. If an operation is to be conducted in Ankara, it is clear who it will be against. I have no security detail. I have been serving as mayor for 7 years. Anyone who wishes has filed complaints against us hundreds of times. All of these have been forwarded to the Ministry of Interior from time to time, inspectors have come, investigations have been conducted, and in the vast majority of them, either a decision of non-prosecution was issued or it was decided that there was no need for an investigation."

"WE ARE CONFIDENT ON THIS ISSUE"

Yavaş continued his remarks as follows:

"There are only two ongoing investigations against me. Those are the investigations I have appealed to the Council of State. One is about vetoing zoning rent, and the other is the allegation that I did not fully supervise the tenders made regarding concerts, for which there are dozens of decisions by the Council of State stating that all mayors are not responsible for this. Therefore, there are no decisions regarding me that are being investigated. Furthermore, when an allegation comes, whether it is a WhatsApp message or an email, I forward it to the inspection board and investigate it myself. There are many petitions I have sent to the prosecutor's office during my own term."

I have a claim: Ankara can be managed transparently without corruption. We are confident on this issue. While managing Ankara, this is our honor. Illicit money cannot enter my throat or my family's. I personally hold those who do so accountable. Our conscience is clear. Despite this, if they are going to conduct an operation, I think they should start with those who have fleeced the assets of the people of Ankara, seized their property, and caused billions of liras in losses; otherwise, it is not possible to talk about justice."

DERVİŞOĞLU: NO ALLIANCE TALKS

Responding to allegations regarding whether the IYI Party will be involved in an alliance, Dervişoğlu spoke as follows:

"As the IYI Party, we have not held any alliance talks with other political parties so far, especially since the elections. However, the IYI Party is naturally included in all of these alliance discussions. To be honest, we are not uncomfortable with our party's name being mentioned without our knowledge. Because it leads to the conclusion that an equation without the IYI Party can no longer even be brought to the agenda in Turkish politics."

These decisions are not decisions that the chairmen of political parties will take alone. Therefore, I reiterate that there are no alliance talks that the IYI Party has held with any political party. If such a meeting were to take place, it would be carried out by sharing it with our nation in an open manner, and the decision for this would not be left solely to the initiative of the chairman."

WHAT HAPPENED?

Yeniden Refah Party Chairman Fatih Erbakan listed the parties they could form an alliance with one by one during a program he attended.

Stating that DEVA, Gelecek, Saadet, and the Yeniden Refah Party could nominate candidates under a single list, Erbakan said, "We would look warmly upon the IYI Party taking part here in order to create a stronger synergy."