As the March 31, 2024 local elections approach, a major scandal has emerged in Gaziantep.
AKP members conducting election campaign activities in the Şahinbey district of Gaziantep visited the Mavi Kent Industrial Site. A portion of the shopkeepers opposed the party members who wanted to hang the posters of Şahinbey Mayor Mehmet Tahmazoğlu.
According to a report by Mustafa Bildircin from Birgün; it was alleged that the AKP members, who were taking notes of the shopkeepers who allowed the posters to be hung, also noted down those who did not, labeling them as "did not allow posters to be hung." The industrial shopkeepers reacted to the practice.
CHP's Hasan Şencan, who claimed that AKP's Tahmazoğlu's posters were being forced to be hung, made statements regarding the issue. Arguing that the AKP "profiles people of every opinion," Şencan stated the following:
"This shameless and anti-democratic act was fitting for the AKP. Those who conduct election campaigns in Gaziantep by taking the state's resources and the Presidential seal behind them are actually extras; they have always existed in the shadow of others. We know it too; our Mayors are up against a Partisan President. Istanbul succeeded, Ankara succeeded, and Gaziantep will succeed too. These anti-democratic actions have opened a new page in the AKP's black marks. Shame on them."
News Source: 12punto
