Ataşehir remains with the CHP

Hazal Ocak
 
The CHP candidate İlhami Yılmaz has been elected to act in place of CHP Ataşehir Mayor Battal İlgezdi, who has been temporarily removed from his office by the Interior Ministry. A large crowd assembled from noon onwards in front of Ataşehir Municipality’s Assembly Chambers for the assembly meeting. At the start of the meeting, AKP members proposed that candidates make speeches before passing to the election. This proposal by the AKP was rejected by majority vote. In the first two rounds, candidates needed to obtain two-thirds of the vote. However, since a majority was not forthcoming in the first two rounds, a third round of voting was held. The CHP’s candidate İlhami Yılmaz got 22 votes, while the AKP’s candidate Mustafa Cevat Arzık received 15. The crowd outside the chambers constantly shouted the slogan, “Rights, law, justice” as the assembly meeting was in progress. With the AKP’s candidate Mustafa Cevat Arzık congratulating his rival following the election, he said, “It would have been more becoming if the candidates had spoken and expressed themselves before the election. Ataşehir is experiencing very arduous days. I condemn Ataşehir Deputy Mayor for this demeanour of his. We will be at the elected candidate’s side. We will give support. We will also act as monitors on behalf of the people of Ataşehir over the corruption files that have been revealed by the provincial governate and ministry.” CHP Assembly Deputy Chair Sadi Özata told the AKP candidate who had condemned him, “I send the word ‘condemn’ back to you.” Election winner İlhami Yılmaz said, “If only I was not appearing before you. Pursuant to the law, our mayor will not be performing his duties for a certain time. You have appointed me in the election that was conducted in a democratic setting. I thank all my assembly member colleagues. I do not find the removal from office for reasons that are not lawful of our mayor who came to office through election and at the will of the people to be ethical. I hope that İlgezdi will be back performing his duties in the shortest time, despite all the aspersion and vilification campaigns. There will not even be the slightest interruption or interference in our activities. We will ensure that our esteemed mayor’s services continue.”
 
CHP calls for justice
 
CHP Provincial Chair Cemal Canpolat, for his part, holding a press meeting after the election, said, “You can apply all the duress in the world and apply all manner of oppression. You can remove him from office because you are strong but you cannot tear him away from the people’s hearts. We are a party that respects the state. We are a party that respects administrative investigations of all kinds that come from the state. Now I ask you. What did you ask for, which document did you ask for and Battal İlgezdi did not supply you with that document? This is an operation. Those who oust mayors elected by the people and their own mayors, why did you remove the Istanbul Metropolitan Mayor from office without giving account to the people? Give account to the people of Istanbul. Those who are incapable of giving account wish to conduct a perception management operation over a CHP mayor. We as the CHP will not permit this. It is not enough to elect an acting mayor. We want justice to be done immediately and for our mayor who has been unjustly removed from office to be reinstated at once.”
 
Congratulations from Battal İlgezdi
 
Battal İlgezdi, in turn, making a speech to the crowd that congregated in front of the Novada mall following the election, stated the following, “I have been sidelined for two months. First of all, I would like to say that I have no issue with the state and the government. We must respect the decision that has been taken. I have started legal proceedings. I am sure that the winner once again will be the people of Ataşehir and you. I have applied to the administrative court and I believe that I will be reinstated through this application. There is nothing that I cannot account for as mayor. I am above board. I am without blemish. Today, the election for an acting mayor was held here. I greatly thank both my AK Party colleagues and my Republican People’s Party colleagues. They appointed İlhami Yılmaz today and I wish him success. He will serve on my behalf until I return to Ataşehir. I wish all that is best and fortuitous for Ataşehir. I send my love and respect to you all.”
 
WHO IS İLHAMİ YILMAZ?
 
İlhami Yılmaz was born in Malatya in 1953. He completed his primary and secondary education in Malatya. He graduated from the Istanbul Academy of Economic and Commercial Sciences in 1977. He completed his MBA master’s degree in the chair of finance at Istanbul University’s Faculty of Economics and Administrative Sciences and Istanbul University’s Faculty of Administrative Sciences.
 
He has served in various grades of senior administration in the public and private sector. He has acted as Project Assessment Expert at Halk Bank and in managerial duties at the Savings and Deposits Insurance Fund. He spent nine months abroad participating on the Industrial Enterprise Project Preparation and Implementation Seminars prepared by the State Investment Bank and the World Bank.
 
He served for two terms from 1999 as a Kadıköy Municipal Assembly Member and Acting Mayor; he has served from 2009 for a further two terms as Ataşehir Municipal Assembly Member, Istanbul Metropolitan Municipal Assembly Member, Deputy Mayor and Acting Mayor.