After the opinion polls, the AK Party mayoral candidates, eagerly awaited by the public, were announced today. President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan announced the candidates at the Haliç Congress Center.
Highlights from President Erdoğan's speech:
I greet you all with my sincerest feelings. I thank each and every one of you for attending our candidate announcement meeting. For your love, for your passion, I express my gratitude to each one of you. At the outset of my words, I remember with mercy our Balıkesir Provincial Youth Branch President Hüseyin Uysal, who passed away in recent days.
With the belief "If we die, we are martyrs; if we live, we are veterans," I commemorate with mercy our dear martyrs who sacrificed their lives for the survival of our homeland, and I extend my condolences to their remaining loved ones.
I remember with mercy each of the more than 50,000 citizens we lost in the earthquakes on February 6.
I pray to Allah for mercy for the 23,000 Palestinian brothers and sisters, most of them women and children, who were martyred as a result of Israel's heinous attacks. We will take all necessary legal steps to hold the oppressors accountable.
Despite the discomfort of those among us who sympathize with Israel, we will never turn our backs on the oppressed just because someone wants us to. Contrary to those who question why we have a presence in Syria, Jerusalem, or Iraq, we will stand tall beside our Palestinian brothers and sisters. I sincerely thank the 250,000 brothers and sisters who stood tall on the Galata Bridge at the beginning of the new year.
Today, we are here to introduce the 11 metropolitan and 15 municipal mayoral candidates who will represent our party in the elections on March 31, 2024. I wish our candidates success in advance.
We selected each of our candidates through comprehensive consultations. Our experience in municipal governance is not new; we have accumulated knowledge and expertise over 30 years. Since 1994, we have implemented a new philosophy of municipal governance in our country. Despite all obstacles from the forces of tutelage, we have practically written an epic in municipal governance. We have become a reference point in local administrations. Just as we turned the unfortunate histories of our cities upside down, we took action to address the democracy deficit in our country.
Just as we cleaned Istanbul from garbage, mud, and potholes, we embarked on this cleanliness journey in all our cities. Today, we are here to introduce the 11 metropolitan and 15 municipal mayoral candidates who will represent our party in the elections on March 31, 2024. I wish our candidates success in advance.
We selected each of our candidates through comprehensive consultations. Our experience in municipal governance is not new; we have accumulated knowledge and expertise over 30 years. Since 1994, we have implemented a new philosophy of municipal governance in our country. Despite all obstacles from the forces of tutelage, we have practically written an epic in municipal governance. We have become a reference point in local administrations. Just as we turned the unfortunate histories of our cities upside down, we took action to address the democracy deficit in our country.
Just as we cleaned Istanbul from garbage, mud, and potholes, we embarked on this cleanliness journey in all our cities. Today, we are here to introduce the 11 metropolitan and 15 municipal mayoral candidates who will represent our party in the elections on March 31, 2024. I wish our candidates success in advance.
We selected each of our candidates through comprehensive consultations. Our experience in municipal governance is not new; we have accumulated knowledge and expertise over 30 years. Since 1994, we have implemented a new philosophy of municipal governance in our country. Despite all obstacles from the forces of tutelage, we have practically written an epic in municipal governance. We have become a reference point in local administrations. Just as we turned the unfortunate histories of our cities upside down, we took action to address the democracy deficit in our country.
Just as we cleaned Istanbul from garbage, mud, and potholes, we embarked on this cleanliness journey in all our cities. Our party came to power just 15 months after its establishment in the November 3, 2002 elections, thanks to the trust of our people. We have maintained our uninterrupted rule for over 21 years. On May 28, we received another 5 years of mandate from our people. On March 31, we will present ourselves to the people with candidates who will truly fulfill the duties of municipal governance.
NOT OBLIGATED, LET YOUR CITY CHANGE WITH YOU
We pay the price for the poorly managed municipalities in opposition parties so that our people do not have to pay for it. Therefore, when determining our candidates, we paid attention to selecting individuals who will be with their cities at all times. We also have a call to our citizens in provinces and districts. Until March 31, we say, "No stopping, let's continue on the path." Due to the ideological impositions of the opposition, we say to the citizens who have been deprived of the services they deserve, "You are not obligated, let your city change with you."
We present ourselves to the people with mayoral candidates who run after solutions, not excuses, and who will live and breathe with the agenda of their cities, not their individual goals. On Monday, January 15, we will hold a grand ceremony to prepare our election manifesto. Here, by starting the election, we will be in the field day and night.
As the AK Party and the People's Alliance, we believe that we will add the largest link to the chain of election victories on March 31. We will open the doors to a new era in municipal governance.
There are very few countries in the world where local democracy operates directly with the will of the people. We already express our gratitude to our citizens who will determine the mayors of their cities, neighborhoods, and villages. Regardless of the people's choice, it has a special place above our heads. It is never right to insult the people because of the color of their vote. We are only responsible for advising our citizens to use their votes in favor of performance and service politics. I wish the elections and the elected candidates well in advance.
We have encountered and fought against these things at every stage of our political life. This nation has no problem with either the republic or its founder, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk. Turkey is a country that will not fall into this trap.
In the March 31 elections, we will also liberate Özgür. We want him to liberate himself from his chains. The trajectory of this person does not look good right now. Without even saying "Bismillah," he is trying to tunnel from the parliament to the prison to rescue a terrorist who has received 18 years in prison for attempting to overthrow the constitutional order. Politics is not the right of every person, but the right of righteous people.
By joining hands, we will bring Istanbul out of the era of discord. We have a lot of work to do, many works to add to our country, and many services to provide to our people. We will perform each service for our people with the consciousness of worship. Istanbul will achieve its goal. We believe that there is no more five years for Istanbul to lose.
MAYORAL CANDIDATES:
Artvin: Mehmet Kocatepe
Aydın: Mustafa Savaş
Balıkesir: Yücel Yılmaz
Bingöl: Erdal Arıkan
Bitlis: Nesrullah Tanğlay
Bursa: Alinur AktaşÇanakkale: Jülide İskenderoğlu
Çankırı: Hüseyin Filiz
Denizli: Osman Zolan
Düzce: Faruk Özlü
Edirne: Belgin İba
Elazığ: Şahin Şerifoğulları
Erzurum: Mehmet Sekmen
Eskişehir: Nebi Hatipoğlu
Giresun: Aytekin Şenlikoğlu
Isparta: Şükrü Bağdeğirmen
Kastamonu: Tahsin Babaş
Kocaeli: Tahir Büyükakın
Muğla: Aydın Ayaydın
Ordu: Mehmet Hilmi Güler
Rize: Rahmi Metin
Samsun: Halit Doğan
Sinop: Yakup Üçüncüoğlu
Tokat: Eyüp Eroğlu
Yalova: Mustafa Tutuk
İstanbul: Murat Kurum
