TİP's Çankaya candidate İrfan Değirmenci: 'I became a candidate because I don't see any possibility of the AKP winning'

Journalist and news anchor İrfan Değirmenci, who was a parliamentary candidate for TİP in İzmir last year but was not elected, has been nominated by the party this time for Mayor of Çankaya.

Değirmenci answered journalists' questions today alongside TİP Ankara Provincial Chair Fırat Çoban, explaining why he became a candidate and which projects he would implement if elected.

Değirmenci stated that the election in the district would be won by "either the current order or TİP." Değirmenci said, "I accepted the candidacy because I do not see any possibility of the AKP winning in Çankaya."

"I FEEL LIKE I AM GOING TO BE USEFUL FOR THE FIRST TIME"

Emphasizing that he is not a politician, Değirmenci said, "I have a reputation from being on screen. For the first time, I feel like this reputation is going to be useful for something."

Noting that as journalists, they are people who speak on every issue regarding the country and urban problems, Değirmenci said, "We have seen what happens when we leave politics to the politicians."

"WE DID NOT WANT TO BE A PARTY THAT GRINDS THE RULING PARTY'S AXE"

When asked, "You are a candidate in one of the CHP's strongholds. Your chances of being elected are not easy; in this sense, why did you become a candidate?" Değirmenci replied as follows:

"We did not want to be a party that grinds the ruling party's axe or harms the opposition. That is why we did not want to nominate candidates in knife-edge districts and pave the way for the ruling bloc. There are districts that are very symbolic, and we have candidates in those districts.

"We do not have a candidate for the Ankara Metropolitan Municipality, but with TİP members in the Municipal Council, the transportation master plan will be implemented."

Reminding that Çankaya is a very special district and that the CHP received 70 percent of the vote in the last local elections, Değirmenci said, "The CHP had 25 candidate nominees; they worked very hard, but a name was imposed on them. We are citizens of the republic with the right to vote and be elected, and we want to say, 'We are here.'"