Striking behind-the-scenes details before critical meeting: CHP mayors ask Özel to 'convince Erdoğan'

Republican People's Party (CHP) Chairman Özgür Özel met with his party's metropolitan and provincial mayors at the Local Administrations Workshop held at the CHP Headquarters over the weekend.

Özel listened to the mayors' opinions before his upcoming meeting with AKP Chairman and President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. It has emerged what the mayors requested from Özel.

According to a report by Sarp Sağkal from Cumhuriyet, the mayors conveyed their complaints during this meeting, particularly regarding debts and public funds withheld from municipalities. In the meeting where debts remaining from the previous term were discussed, party officials stated, “It appears that many municipalities have already spent more than half of their annual budgets for 2024. This creates serious financial difficulties for the future. It is possible that these issues will also be brought to the agenda in the meeting with the President.”

"WE WANT TO KEEP THE DOORS OF DIALOGUE OPEN"

Party members expressed, “We will, of course, see what kind of meeting it will be once it happens. However, our effort is sincere. We want to keep the doors of dialogue open during this period. Both the voters and we expect a meeting where problems are discussed at length and solutions are genuinely addressed.”