Tunç Soyer hands over office to Cemil Tugay, shares his emotions on social media

In the local elections, the CHP emerged victorious once again in İzmir, Turkey's third-largest city.

With nearly all the votes counted in İzmir, CHP candidate Cemil Tugay received 49 percent of the vote, while AKP candidate Hamza Dağ received 37 percent.

Sincere moments were displayed during the handover ceremony that took place following the election. Soyer shared a long post on his social media account regarding the ceremony and expressed his emotions.

TUNÇ SOYER WROTE THE FOLLOWING:

As I have always said, "The world of the future will be a world of cities." For this reason, I have always engaged in local politics with the belief that Turkey would also transform from the local level, through its cities.

Without resorting to the comfort of populism, I strove to do my best by working wholeheartedly for 10 years in Seferihisar and 5 years at the İzmir Metropolitan Municipality.

I worked very hard to one day see the picture of that transformation I believed in. And finally, on the evening of March 31, I saw that tableau—the first step of transformation from the local level—where most of Turkey was painted red; we saw it as a country, and we celebrated it with great happiness.

We have strengthened the power of our Republic, where sovereignty once again belongs solely and exclusively to the nation. We achieved a great victory against a mentality that humiliates its citizens, disregards the rule of law, polarizes our differences, belittles democracy and the virtues of our Republic, and constantly impoverishes people. The nation said stop to this course of events.

First and foremost, I thank all our party organizations, led by our Chairman Özgür Özel, who made this great victory possible, our Mayors who won the Municipality in places we could barely dream of, and all the party members who contributed to the campaigns, and I congratulate each of them with all my heart.

I congratulate Mr. Cemil Tugay, who was elected as the Mayor of İzmir Metropolitan Municipality, and our District Mayors. I wish them success in their duties. I believe that he, too, will continue to serve the people of İzmir and provide the best examples of social democratic municipalism until the final hours of his term.

They say;

If you are raw, you will break.

If you are competent, you will bend.

If you are nothing, you will multiply.

We are all flesh and bone; we all may have resentments, grievances, and disappointments. However, I cannot deem being raw as fitting for myself.

We are experiencing a historic milestone. Now is the time to make a new beginning for Turkey. Now is the time to work as a plain member of our party, without titles or labels.

I will continue to work with all my strength to fulfill the requirements of the great responsibilities brought by this great success and victory, and to build the second century of the Republic of Turkey.

With all the experience I have accumulated to date, I am ready to serve my country without expecting anything in return. My door is wide open to our party's administrators at every level, all our members, and especially our mayors, should they need me.

I congratulate our Mayor Cemil once again and wish that it may be auspicious for İzmir and our country.

I extend my endless thanks to the 4.5 million people of İzmir, with whom we established a strong bond of affection for 5 years, especially all my colleagues at the Metropolitan Municipality.

News Source: 12punto