Mayor elected from DEM Party sparks crisis in AKP after switching sides
Birecik Mayor Mehmet Begit, who was elected from the DEM Party, has resigned from his party and joined the AKP. AKP Municipal Council Member Abdulkadir Kurt resigned from his council seat in protest of Begit joining the AKP.
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Mehmet Begit, who was elected Mayor of Birecik from the DEM Party with 54 percent of the vote in the March 31 Local Elections, has resigned from his party. Begit joined the AKP during an anniversary event.
AKP COUNCIL MEMBER REACTS TO BEGİT TRANSFER
AKP Birecik Municipal Council Member Abdulkadir Kurt reacted to Begit's move to the AKP.
Announcing his resignation from his party council membership in a statement, Kurt said, "Mehmet Begit resigned from the DEM Party about 20 days after the elections, usurping the will of 22 thousand people. This individual is creating perceptions based on our country's national values and dreaming of dirty rent-seeking. The AK Party has suffered a loss of votes in recent days because it harbors such people within the party."
The full text of Kurt's statement is as follows:
"As you know, in the March 31, 2024 local elections, the DEM Party won the election in Birecik with a margin of approximately 11 thousand votes. The Republic of Turkey is a democratic country. All legal political parties can enter elections, nominate candidates, and participate in this race. Regardless of the ballot box results, we must respect the will of the people. No one can usurp this right.
I say with regret that this is what we see at the point we have reached. Mehmet Begit resigned from the DEM Party about 20 days after the elections, usurping the will of 22 thousand people. This individual is creating perceptions based on our country's national values and dreaming of dirty rent-seeking. Unfortunately, these dreams will remain unfulfilled.
And as of today, we see his transition to the AK Party. The AK Party has suffered a loss of votes in recent days because it harbors such people within the party. We saw this clearly in the last elections.
"INSTEAD OF LEARNING FROM MISTAKES, WE ARE CONTINUING WITH THEM"
Instead of learning from mistakes, we are continuing with them. For this reason, I will not be under the same roof as such people who engage in flag politics and ignore the will of the people. I am resigning from my AK Party council membership, for which I was elected as the second candidate. I will continue as an independent."