YENİ Party members meet at Üsküdar rally: Dedetaş's letter read at protest rally before election

YENİ Party Istanbul Provincial Chair Özgür Çelik had called on citizens to protest in Üsküdar ahead of the deputy mayor election scheduled for September 5, urging them to gather in front of the municipality at 8:00 PM.

Responding to this call, a large number of citizens gathered in front of the municipality to express their reactions ahead of the upcoming election. 

The following letter from the detained Üsküdar Mayor Sinem Dedetaş was read at the protest:

My dear neighbors,

First of all, I would like to thank you on behalf of myself, my detained colleagues, and all my coworkers who are currently in custody, for the solidarity you have shown by coming or writing from Üsküdar and many different provinces and districts of Turkey since the day I was taken into custody.

The trust and love you have shown during this difficult process is our greatest support. LONG LIVE!

Everything is happening openly before your eyes. The bill for the election lost 2.5 years ago by a mayor and his team who had managed the municipality for years is being presented to us today. The dirty calculations of politics are being placed before the will of the nation.

Since the day I was elected, I and our dedicated employees have worked with great love for Üsküdar, without regard for any political differences or agendas. As a mayor, that is, as a public official, I have placed public interests above all other interests. Thanks to this understanding, together with our administration and all our employees, we have succeeded in becoming the municipality for everyone living in Üsküdar. At the point we have reached, the personal grievances, loss of rights, sorrows, and longing experienced by those of us who have been unfairly removed from service for the sake of political calculations are one thing, but the greatest grievance is occurring in the public order.

The establishment of the Republic and its affiliated institutions, and all the gains of the Republic, especially the right to vote and be elected, were won with great effort through the blood of our ancestors, our martyrs, our veterans, and our heroes. It is this whole set of values that underlies the respect we have for the national will and the supremacy of democracy, and our effort to protect it. It is those efforts, those struggles.

Gazi Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, for this very reason, seeing these days, said, “Sovereignty belongs unconditionally to the nation.” This understanding is the protective shield of the Republic of Turkey and its citizens, that is, us. Democracy and the rule of law are the foundation of living together fraternally and fairly. It is this understanding that brings us together here today. And this understanding must shed light on the election to be held tomorrow. The will of the people of Üsküdar must not be ignored. Every elected council member, while casting their vote, must remember the will and preference expressed on March 31, 2024, and respect it. 

Everyone DOES what suits them!

My colleagues and I have CHOSEN to be moral and to respect your votes and preferences. There are those today who do not do this. I leave them alone with their own consciences. Those who put their own interests before the interests of the public existed yesterday and will exist tomorrow.

What is essential is not the understanding that every path is permissible under the guise of political competition; it is to uphold and grow goodness, humanity, compassion, and morality.

Positions are temporary, but the place in hearts is permanent.

I embrace everyone with love and greet you with the hope of free days.

Sinem Dedetaş

Mayor of Üsküdar

YENİ Party members meet at Üsküdar rally:
Dedetaş's letter read at protest rally before electionhttps://t.co/TS1Td15H51 pic.twitter.com/9PwRCY9wTf

— 12punto (@12puntocomtr) September 4, 2026

News Source: 12punto