April 1st message from Mansur Yavaş: 'I will explain what happened'

Ankara Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Mansur Yavaş spoke about the May 14-28 presidential vice-presidency process and the events that took place during that time.

Yavaş said the following:

"I WILL EXPLAIN TO THE PUBLIC"

"I will explain everything that happened after April 1st. We are being treated unfairly. Our agenda right now is the local elections. I do not want to go beyond the local elections or have a part in doing so. I prefer to remain silent. But hopefully, in April, if we need to make a statement after being elected, I will explain these to the public as well."

"IT SEEMS THIS WILL ALSO COME TRUE"

Regarding his statement that "This will be my last term as mayor," he said, "I felt the need to say this for the following reason: In order to secure a majority in the municipal council this time, and because district mayors who have given us the cold shoulder and refused to work with us would likely continue the same attitude if re-elected, we want to elect mayors close to us and provide services to our heart's content. To avoid facing the same obstacles again, I am offering them something: This is my last term. I am saying, take this as an opportunity. Hopefully, this will also come true."

Speaking to Saygı Öztürk from Sözcü, Yavaş's statements are as follows:

"THEY SAY THEY HAVE NEVER SEEN IT BEFORE"

“For 5 years, we have provided significant services to the districts of Ankara. My priority is sewage and water; these are indispensable. During the pandemic, I traveled from village to village. I met with citizens, village headmen (muhtars), and association presidents. But I never looked at how many votes came from the village I visited. I saw the mayoralty as an opportunity to serve Ankara. For this reason, when people see my sincerity and attitude, for example, in a village where they never voted for me, they feel embarrassed. I always encounter this behavior, especially in outer districts, as if I were seeing my own relatives. We establish a connection as if we have known each other for a hundred years. I have never heard anything negative from any of them so far. I went to the villages and districts in a single car. They say, ‘We have never seen a Metropolitan Mayor in this village before, and we have never seen one arrive like this either.’”

PUBLIC RESOURCES

“I never take advantage of public resources. I cover my personal expenses, and even when I go to places on behalf of the municipality, I pay for them myself. Both in terms of conscience, and our municipal employees see this too. For example, if there is an expense, when they see that I pay for it even though I shouldn't have to, they at least think, ‘he lives simply.’ I want them to be like that too. In Europe, a minister's daughter used the internet on her tablet when she came to the minister's office. The minister resigned. These things need to reach these levels now.”

"TRANSPARENCY MUST BE ESTABLISHED IN TURKEY"

I think I am one of the best examples of this. Because anyone appoints a manager to their factory, hires personnel, and expects work from them. If they like it, they continue; if not, it ends. I see myself in that situation. I am not a ruler; I am a person whom the people of Ankara have told for 5 years, ‘Come and manage my budget.’ I am nothing more than that, but unfortunately, our citizens also have behaviors towards those who govern them, perhaps due to habits from the past. I am so uncomfortable with those who treat me in such ways. I am uncomfortable with being given plaques or being placed somewhere in an exaggerated manner. I am in the same situation as a district governor; whatever that is, I am that. You will do your job, but other than that, you will neither hold the work you do over anyone's head nor create an occasion to boast. This style and transparency must be established in Turkey. This caught on in Ankara. What I am sad about is this: It caught on in Ankara, but if even what should normally be the case is met with such interest, there is something wrong here. I think the income-expenditure gap in Turkey stems from both ostentation and corruption. If people are waiting in queues, those responsible for this are the administrators who do not end waste and corruption as soon as possible.”

"MY LAST TERM" STATEMENT

(Regarding the statement "This will be my last term as mayor") “I felt the need to say this for the following reason: In order to secure a majority in the municipal council this time, and because district mayors who have given us the cold shoulder and refused to work with us would likely continue the same attitude if re-elected, we want to elect mayors close to us and provide services to our heart's content. To avoid facing the same obstacles again, I am offering them something: This is my last term. I am saying, take this as an opportunity. Hopefully, this will also come true. Throughout my political life, I did not say this thinking about running from Ankara when my mayoralty ends: I wanted to return to my own business and practice my profession. Now, I want to live my own life in the same way, together with my family, my children, and my grandchildren. It is such that some things are not in your hands. Sometimes you find yourself in them. I am not saying this as a commitment or an expectation. I have learned from my experience that one should not speak definitively. I did not say this based on a goal.”

POINTED TO APRIL 1ST

“(Regarding the presidential vice-presidency and the events that took place during that process) I will explain everything that happened after April 1st. We are being treated unfairly. Our agenda right now is the local elections. I do not want to go beyond the local elections or have a part in doing so. I prefer to remain silent. But hopefully, in April, if we need to make a statement after being elected, I will explain these to the public as well.”

"I DO NOT ENGAGE IN POLITICS"

“I am not getting into this subject at all. Because every answer you give necessarily requires a counter-answer. When I was elected Mayor, there were statements from some party leaders once or twice. I do not engage in politics. Because I am not the interlocutor; I am a mayor. I did not respond, and I will continue in the same way,” he replied.