Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu reacted on his social media account to the process regarding the municipal administration in Üsküdar.
In his post, İmamoğlu criticized the AKP over the arrest of the mayor and municipal council members, sending a message that the loss of meaning in elections would have severe consequences for Turkey.
The victory of winning an election by arresting the mayor and municipal council members has fallen to the AK Party. Do you think you will be comfortable when elections in Turkey no longer have any meaning? Üsküdar is not yours. Istanbul is not yours. Turkey is not yours. It belongs to the nation. The nation will surely take back what is its own.
The process in Üsküdar had come to the agenda with the acting mayoral election held after the removal of Mayor Sinem Dedetaş, who was arrested. In the election held on August 5, CHP candidate Sibel Tan Çetinkaya was elected acting mayor with 22 votes, while the AKP candidate remained at 18 votes.
Upon the AKP's objection, the court decided on August 25 to repeat the election on the grounds that "irregularities were committed in the election" and "election security was violated."
It was stated that CHP members Amine Cansu Çelik and Ekrem Baki were arrested in an operation before the election, and that 4 CHP municipal council members had switched to the AKP shortly before the election. İmamoğlu's post became one of the harshest political outbursts regarding the debates on the change of administration in Üsküdar following these developments.
News Source: 12punto
