Murat Kurum's take on Başak Demirtaş: 'Did an order come from somewhere, or are negotiations still ongoing? We will see in time'

AKP's Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality mayoral candidate Murat Kurum met with executives of media organizations at the Haliç Congress Center.

ISTANBUL POLL

Providing information on recent polls, Murat Kurum said, "I always speak openly. I had a poll conducted when my candidacy was first announced. At that time, we were 1.5-2 points behind. The polls circulating in the market showed us 8-10 points behind, but that was not the reality. Then we announced our projects and made our visits to the districts. We integrated with Istanbul. Istanbul loved us, and we loved them. In the poll we had conducted after the launch, we are 1.4 points ahead. As far as I know, the CHP's poll is also like this. We will continue our work with motivation, without becoming complacent," he stated.

COMMENT ON BAŞAK DEMİRTAŞ

Responding to a question about the DEM Party's decision regarding Başak Demirtaş, Kurum said, "Did an order come from somewhere, or are negotiations still ongoing? We will see this in time. It is quite natural for PKK ringleader Mustafa Karasu to target us. More than that, I want to draw attention to the alliance he points to. He talks about embracing existing alliances. We all know very well which alliance he is talking about. We see once again who is hoping for help from whom. We primarily advocate that politics should be conducted in a transparent, understandable, and democratic process. They are hoping for help through the PKK ringleader. Our citizens see these developments. Our nation will give the necessary response to the alliance pointed out by the separatist terrorist organization. We have not bowed to the threats of separatist terrorist organizations, and we will not."

"ISTANBUL WILL ATTAIN ITS FREEDOM"

Murat Kurum continued his words as follows:

The mayor is in despair because the end of the road is in sight. They do not know what to do, nor do they know how to conduct a campaign. Sometimes they come and act as if they are interested in local issues, and sometimes they try to display the understanding of 'we cannot run this business locally, let's move it to the national level and create different agendas,' just as they have for 5 years.

You see them holding rallies in other provinces of Turkey. They are chasing different agendas; they do not know what they will be right now, and in this sense, I always say this: The reign of a snowman lasts until the sun rises. Hopefully, the sun will rise in Istanbul on March 31. Istanbul will attain its freedom. Frankly, we do not care what the terrorist organization says or who is in an alliance with whom.

Our nation gave the necessary response at the ballot box on May 28. We already do not expect the terrorist organization to support us. It is natural for it to target us.

Who acts with whom is a situation of no value to us. We will look ahead. We will look at Istanbul's agenda. We will focus on the issues on Istanbul's agenda and will always be on this side. Everyone knows what they want to do, so no one should take offense. Since they have nothing to say in Istanbul, the mask of those who try to create an agenda outside of Istanbul by moving the agenda to different channels, claiming 'I am leading Istanbul, I am dealing with Istanbul's issues,' has now fallen. Our nation has seen this too. Therefore, we will look at our work and our projects.

Our nation sees these developments. Our noble nation, the dear people of Istanbul, clearly gave the necessary response on May 28 to the alliance pointed out by the separatist terrorist organization. I am sure that they will give this same response even more strongly on March 31.