‘Party’ quota in the state: 200 district governors recruited via interviews turn out to be relatives

While the reliability of public sector interviews is a subject of debate, it has been revealed that in 2022, candidates who achieved limited success in the written exam were appointed to office based on the oral scores given in interviews. It is noteworthy that the exams took place during the tenure of former Interior Minister Süleyman Soylu.

According to a report by Merve Şişman from Karar, the written threshold for the exam, in which 200 district governor candidates were recruited, was set at 71.3. The family ties of the candidates who barely passed the threshold and received high scores in the oral interview drew attention. It was revealed that the father of Ali Serttaş, who passed the written exam with a score of 71.57 and was appointed to Yozgat Boğazlıyan after receiving a 91 in the interview, served as a mayor for the AK Party.

CANDIDATES' FATHERS HOLD HIGH-LEVEL POSITIONS IN THE BUREAUCRACY

Official records show that the father of Sevde Nur Mantı, who was appointed as the district governor of the Harmancık district of Bursa, Ali Mantı, served as a Chief Civil Inspector. It was understood that the father of Neslihan Sönmezoğlu, who scored 78 on the written exam and 98 in the interview before being appointed to the İhsangazi district of Kastamonu, is a Regional Director at the General Directorate of Forestry. The table of nepotism, which raises questions, has caused great discomfort in the public.

NEPOTISM IN THE STATE

The most striking example regarding the interview system, which the President promised to 'abolish' before the general elections but was subsequently forgotten, occurred in the recruitment of district governors. In the 2022 district governor recruitment exam, candidates who barely passed the written test were appointed after receiving high scores in the oral interview. In the list of 200 people, it was seen that some of the candidates' fathers were in the bureaucracy, while others were in the ruling party.

The scandals surrounding oral interviews, which are said to cause favoritism in the recruitment of civil servants or higher-level employees to the state, do not end. No steps have been taken in the more than a year that has passed since the interview system, which AK Party Chairman and presidential candidate President Erdoğan said they would 'abolish' before the 2023 general elections. The promises made before the election were forgotten. The interview system, which is synonymous with 'favoritism' in the eyes of the citizens, continues to cause new grievances. The latest scandal to emerge concerns the 2022 district governor recruitment. It has been determined that the interview system also created a controversial picture in the district governor exam held during Soylu's tenure as Minister of Interior.

Ali Yerlikaya was appointed as the Minister of Interior with the Presidential Appointment Decision dated June 3, 2023, and numbered 2023/284. During the Yerlikaya period, the success list of 77 district governor candidates was not published.

SOME BARELY PASSED THE THRESHOLD

The final success list for the district governor candidate exam, for which the written test was held on October 16, 2022, and the interviews were held between December 5, 2022, and January 6, 2023, was published by the Ministry of Interior on April 10, 2023, after the earthquake. Some names on this list of 200 'successful' people were given a 'favor' by the state. In the exam where 200 district governor candidates were recruited, the written threshold was set at 71.3. The family ties of the candidates who barely passed the threshold and received high scores in the oral interview drew attention. In the 'success' list published during this period when Süleyman Soylu was the minister, some names with low written scores were entitled to become district governors with the ceiling score given in the interview. The written scores of these individuals are almost at the threshold score. In addition to the political contacts of these individuals, the fact that their family members are also in the bureaucracy strengthens the allegation of favoritism.

SOME FROM THE BUREAUCRACY, SOME FROM THE RULING PARTY

It has been revealed that some of the family members of the people appointed as district governors are AK Party district chairmen, regional directors at the General Directorate of Forestry, central governors/chief civil inspectors affiliated with the Ministry of Interior, AK Party municipal council members, RTÜK members, or executives at the Ülkü Ocakları Headquarters. The information of some people on the 'success' list published by the Ministry is as follows:

LOW WRITTEN SCORE, HIGHEST INTERVIEW SCORE

Sevde Nur Mantı, who is 168th on the list, scored 72.23 on the written exam, where the threshold score was 71.3. She received 80.66 in the interview. Sevde Nur Mantı is currently the district governor in Harmancık, Bursa. The 26-year-old Mantı's father, Ali Mantı, is a Central Governor/Chief Civil Inspector at the Ministry of Interior. Neslihan Sönmezoğlu, who is 3rd on the list, scored 78.56 on the written exam. She received the highest score of 98.66 in the interview. The 25-year-old Sönmezoğlu's father, Fahri Sönmezoğlu, is a regional director at the General Directorate of Forestry. Neslihan Sönmezoğlu was appointed as the district governor of Kastamonu on September 10, 2023.

BARELY PASSED THE THRESHOLD, BECAME DISTRICT GOVERNOR VIA INTERVIEW

Saltuk Buğrahan Açıkbaş, who is 87th on the list, scored 74 on the written exam and 89.33 in the interview. Saltuk Buğrahan, the son of Mersin Metropolitan Municipality Council member Yaşar Açıkbaş, is currently serving as the district governor in the Akıncılar region of Sivas. Tarık Yerlikaya, who is 105th on the list, is the son of İhsan Yerlikaya, who was elected as an RTÜK member twice by the Turkish Grand National Assembly. Tarık Yerlikaya scored 77 on the written exam and 84.33 in the interview. Yerlikaya was appointed as the district governor of Tavas, Denizli, on February 9, 2024.

Ali Serttaş, who is 100th on the list, scored 71.57 on the written exam, where the threshold was 71.3. He received 91 in the interview. His father, Ahmet Serttaş, is the AK Party Mayor of the Altınyayla district of Burdur. Ali Serttaş, who has a photo taken side-by-side with former Interior Minister Süleyman Soylu, became the district governor of Yozgat Boğazlıyan.

HE WAS AN ADVISOR TO AN AK PARTY MAYOR

Tarık Orhan, 176th on the list, scored 75 on the written exam, which had a threshold score of 71.3. He received 77.3 in the interview. Tarık Orhan, from Batman, had served as an advisor to former AK Party Batman deputy and former Batman Mayor Ataullah Hamidi. Tarık Orhan, who is the District Governor in Sarıcakaya, Eskişehir, started his duty on May 8, 2024.

SHARED HIS SUCCESS VIA INTERVIEW ON SOCIAL MEDIA

Batuhan Kalkan, 86th on the list, scored 72.20 on the written exam, barely qualifying for the interview. He earned the right to become a district governor candidate by receiving 91.66 in the interview. It was determined that Kalkan had previously served as an executive at the Ülkü Ocakları Headquarters. Kalkan announced that he had earned the right to become a district governor candidate with a post he made on social media. In the post, Kalkan said, "As of April 10, 2023, I have successfully completed the stages of the District Governorship Exam I took and have earned the right to become a 111th Term District Governor candidate. May God grant us the pleasure of serving our state properly." Kalkan was appointed to Altınyayla, Sivas, on October 9, 2023. Tarık Emre Uşen, 131st on the list, scored 77.08 on the written exam and 80.66 in the interview. His father is Gazi Uşen, the AK Party district chairman in Arguvan, Malatya. Tarık Emre Uşen was appointed to Süloğlu, Edirne, on May 6.

CLICK TO ACCESS THE SUCCESS LIST

News Source: 12punto