CHP İzmir Provincial Chair Gümrükçü on Çiğli: AK Party wins a central district municipality for the first time

CHP İzmir Provincial Chair Utku Gümrükçü reacted sharply to Çiğli Mayor Onur Emrah Yıldız leaving the CHP to join the AKP. Speaking at a press conference he held in İzmir, Gümrükçü drew attention to the political significance of Çiğli for the CHP and stated that this development cannot be viewed as a simple change of party.

Gümrükçü stated that Çiğli has been one of the districts where the CHP has been strong for 25 years, saying, "For the first time in its history, a breach has been opened in the İzmir fortress, thanks to you. The seventh-largest district, the gateway from the north, Çiğli, the impregnable fortress of the Republican People's Party for 25 years, is gone. For the first time, the Justice and Development Party has a central district municipality in İzmir. This is not a matter that can be brushed off by making a statement at the doorstep," he said.

Pointing to the will of CHP voters and party workers, Gümrükçü also touched upon the votes received in Çiğli in past elections. Reminding that 103 thousand votes were cast for Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu in the first round of the 2023 presidential elections and 106 thousand in the second round in the district, Gümrükçü said, "Who will account for the labor and sweat of the people living in this city and the workers working in that municipality? Who will pay the price?"

CLAIMS OF A "NORTHERN PLAN"

Gümrükçü recalled that Menemen and Aliağa were lost in the local elections and argued that a political landscape has emerged across the northern districts of İzmir. Stating that the AK Party has gained an important position in the north with Çiğli, Gümrükçü said, "A northern plan is in motion. One cannot help but wonder if the other mayors who will switch parties will also be from the north," he said.

Opening a debate on responsibility within the party, Gümrükçü stated that there must be accountability following these events. Asking, "Will no one resign here? Will no one be held accountable?" Gümrükçü also assessed potential new defections, saying, "One must intervene and try to prevent the process before it happens. Unfortunately, after it happens, what you do or say has no value."

Gümrükçü said that the goal of the CHP İzmir Provincial Organization is not only to protect existing municipalities but to win back İzmir with its metropolitan and district municipalities. Speaking about the candidate determination processes, Gümrükçü said, "Ballot box analyses, field studies, correct candidate determination processes... Whatever is scientific, whatever the voice of the street is, we will not close our ears to it."

Uygar Yıldırım ALSO SPOKE

Uygar Yıldırım, who was nominated as the CHP's Çiğli mayoral candidate in the March 31 local elections but whose candidacy was later withdrawn, also took the floor at the meeting. Referencing Gabriel Garcia Marquez's novel "Chronicle of a Death Foretold," Yıldırım argued that the process had been talked about for a long time and yet was not prevented.

Yıldırım drew attention to the historical importance of Çiğli for the CHP and said, "It is a huge disappointment for me that the Republican People's Party is being governed by an AKP mayor after 27 years." Yıldırım criticized the decision to switch, noting that 61 thousand voters had voted for Onur Emrah Yıldız.

News Source: 12punto