Murat Kurum responds to reports of 'making too many gaffes'. Answers the Kanal İstanbul question

Key details from Murat Kurum's statements are as follows:

We see enthusiasm everywhere we go. There is excitement. Istanbul is tired, its expectations have not been met. In the places we visit, we share our projects ranging from transportation to earthquakes, urban transformation to green spaces.

"ISTANBUL RESIDENTS WANT CHANGE"

Living in Istanbul has become a problem. Everyone living in Istanbul has a fear of earthquakes. Unfortunately, there is an administration in this 5-year period that has made promises but not kept them. Istanbul residents are fed up with this ordeal. There is a signal of change. There is a desire and demand for change. We say that March 31 will be the day all of Istanbul wins. No one will lose on March 31.

"THEY ARE CONSTANTLY SEEKING POLEMICS"

We are constantly facing these polemics. I have never encountered anything like, 'Murat Kurum will build 650 thousand houses, can he do it? Can the targets regarding green space be achieved?' We are not talking about projects at all. Unfortunately, we cannot. Across from us is a candidate whose arrogance has surpassed his political reasoning. This candidate is after a polemic every day. He is someone who has been interested in everything except Istanbul for 5 years.

Today is the same. You look, he says, "imported candidate." Based on what is it an imported candidate? I was here during the 1999 earthquake. I worked at TOKİ here in 2005. When you put the work we have done side by side, they cannot even come close. They cannot be an apprentice next to us. I do not have to explain whether I am an Istanbulite or not. I spent most of my professional life in Istanbul. We were here during the mucilage crisis. When he went on vacation, we were by the side of the people. Unfortunately, this is his mindset. It is not a situation I approve of.

As someone living in Istanbul, you face the ordeal of traffic while going to work or returning home. Your expectation from the Metropolitan Mayor is for the problem to be solved. But you see, he is constantly creating an agenda outside of Istanbul.

"WE SUPPORT ANYTHING THAT WILL BENEFIT GAZA"

The mayor who criticized us yesterday over Gaza-Palestine is posing behind a truck trailer today. I congratulate him for this pose. He knows how to pose well. We support any work that will benefit Gaza. I went to a madrasa built in 1485.

When you look at the history of Istanbul, you see that many civilizations have lived here. There is another civilization in Üsküdar, Istanbul. Eyüpsultan welcomes you as the spiritual guardian of Istanbul. Each of Istanbul's 39 districts has an identity and culture.

There is a mindset here where many civilizations live in harmony. Istanbul is not just a city that concerns Turkey; it is a city described as the capital of the world.

"WE HAVE BEEN A NATION THAT REACHES OUT TO THE OPPRESSED"

If we remain silent, we will lose our personality and identity. We cannot forget the values that make us who we are. We have always been a nation that reaches out to the oppressed. If the Metropolitan Municipality is sending a truck based on our rhetoric, this cannot be wrong. It is wrong to turn this into political material. What is wrong is to pose in front of the truck's trailer.

Have you seen the Metropolitan Municipality putting up a fight for Gaza? It is not just Gaza; there is also Ukraine. If we could come together here and send a truck together. Why haven't they done it until now? You go to the earthquake zone, we say "we will build these houses," they say "we will do it for free." Do it, is anyone stopping you? Why didn't they do it?

MURAT KURUM'S STATEMENT REGARDING HIS GAFFES

We have a very busy schedule. You start at 8 in the morning and go until 2 or 3 at night. It is like this every day. Inevitably, your tongue can slip in this intensity. I find this human. When I realized it, I tried to express it, thinking they would make news out of it today.

We went to Küçükçekmece and said Büyükçekmece. They say he doesn't know Istanbul.

Look at the 1-week period. Özgür Özel and İmamoğlu made many gaffes. They went beyond gaffes. They said things that would question the patriotism of those who do paid military service. They did not make any attempt to correct this either.

"AN ALLIANCE IS IN QUESTION"

DEM has not fielded a mayoral candidate in 22 districts. In some districts, their candidates are on CHP lists. In the end, they themselves say they have formed an alliance under the name of urban consensus. They could not name it. Başak Demirtaş announced her candidacy. When the instruction came, she said, 'I am not a candidate.' The leader of the terrorist organization made a statement there. He pointed to the alliance. Then the candidate changed. We will see what those candidates will do or not do.

As always, there is an alliance behind the scenes. I don't understand why they hide this. Come out and say it bravely. You look, there are 6 people, 8 people at the table. One is on top, one is below. The kind of rhetoric other candidates use does not concern me. We respect all candidates.

Our nation will decide on March 31: there is a candidate who has not kept the promises he made in the 5-year period, and on the other side, there is a candidate who has served as a minister and has been by the side of the people. Should Istanbul be a locomotive city in the Century of Turkey or not? This will be an election where this decision will be made.

REGARDING URBAN TRANSFORMATION IN ISTANBUL

When we say we will transform 650 thousand houses, unfortunately, the CHP Metropolitan Mayor expresses this. He says these houses should not be transformed. Why? Because he knows he cannot do such a job. If Istanbul is an earthquake city and Turkey is an earthquake country, then we have to make the earthquake the primary agenda in Istanbul. We want there to be no single risky structure left in Istanbul.

When you look at Istanbul, there are 1.5 million risky houses. 600 thousand of them need to be transformed urgently. We have to do this work for our citizens and provide it to them somehow. We want to transform 650 thousand houses within 5 years. We will transform 300 thousand through KİPTAŞ, 60 thousand houses per year. As the municipality, we want to carry out this transformation by transforming 300 thousand houses ourselves. We will provide 700 thousand TL in grants and 700 thousand TL in loans.

KANAL İSTANBUL QUESTION

At the end of the live broadcast, Murat Kurum gave the following answer to the question directed at him about whether he has a project regarding Kanal İstanbul:

"In the surveys we conducted, the problems of the citizens are listed as items such as: Transportation, urban transformation, housing, rent prices, increasing household economy, and green space. These are our urgent agendas... We will not use Istanbul's resources and we will not take them onto our agenda without doing these."