Esenyurt trustee debate in the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality Assembly: 'Nearly 500 million lira was found!'

There was a debate between AKP and YENİ Party groups over the trustees appointed to Esenyurt Municipality in the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality (IMM) Assembly and the allegations of corruption. NEW Party Group Spokesperson Ali Şar said that there was approximately 500 million lira in the house that a deputy mayor in the trustee-run municipality allegedly rented to hide money and said, "The main issue is that the trustee is dismissed and appointed as the deputy governor of Ankara."

The 3rd of the November sessions of the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality Assembly were held in Saraçhane Campus under the chairmanship of the 2nd Deputy Chairman Gencay Özcan. At the session where the 2027 budget of 19 district municipalities was approved, allegations of Esenyurt trustee and corruption between the YENİ Party and AKP Groups were brought up in off-the-agenda conversations.

“THE TRUSTEE WAS APPOINTED TO ANOTHER POSITION AS IF HE WAS REWARDED”

In the discussion that started in the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality Assembly over the developments in Esenyurt Municipality, AKP Group Spokesperson Murat Türkyılmaz, who took the floor after the speech of NEW Party Council Member Erdinç Aktaş, said that the fight against corruption should be carried out without discrimination of political parties. "I advocate that anyone who seizes public property or the nation's property should be held accountable, regardless of their party. I invite you to be consistent so that we can take what you say into consideration. You have not used the same sentences regarding the IMM indictment until today. You have organized rallies for these friends to the extent of declaring them political heroes," he said.

NEW Party Group Spokesperson Ali Şar stated that there was no money in the operations against them and drew attention to the allegations in Esenyurt. Shar said, "Not even a penny with holes was found during the political operations against us. They hid money under the floorboards, they said there were money towers. All of these were slanders. However, nearly 500 million liras were found in the house rented by a deputy mayor of the municipality governed by the trustee to hide money." Şar stated that the debate should be evaluated under three headings and listed them as trustee practice, corruption allegations and democracy. Stating that the NEW Party stands in a different place on these three topics, Şar said that they do not find the appointment of trustees to the municipality democratic.

“1590 INSPECTIONS WERE MADE BETWEEN 2019-2024”

Ali Şar also brought up the number of inspections in Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality. Şar claimed that 147 inspections were carried out between 2014 and 2019 during the term of Kadir Topbaş and Mevlüt Uysal, and that this number reached 1590 during Ekrem İmamoğlu's five-year term. Bringing the money claim in Esenyurt to the agenda again, Şar said, "Today, while people cannot pay their house rent, 500 million lira was found in the house that a deputy mayor under trustee management in Esenyurt allegedly rented to hide money. With this money, 100 flats can be bought in Güngören."

MELENDİZ DALYAN İZGİ: “PRECEPTION OF INNOCENCE HAS BEEN VIOLATED”

NEW Party Group Spokesperson Atty. Melendiz Dalyan İzgi, on the other hand, criticized the sharing of images of people detained and arrested in operations against municipalities with the public. Izgi argued that the presumption of innocence was violated in this process and said that the allegations of money towers and suitcases brought to the agenda after the operations did not reflect the truth. İzgi said that searches were carried out in the houses of IMM President Ekrem İmamoğlu's family and relatives, but the alleged money was not found. On the other hand, İzgi stated that the allegation that a house was rented to hide money was brought to the agenda in the Esenyurt investigation, and stated that economic problems and citizens' housing problems should also be discussed. Izgi also criticized the way political operations and judicial processes are reflected to the public and reminded that the proposal to broadcast the defenses regarding the IBB indictment live was rejected in the Parliament.

REACTION FROM SHAR TO THE NEW POSITION OF THE TRUSTEE

Taking the floor again in the last part of the discussion, Ali Şar criticized the appointment of the trustee appointed to Esenyurt Municipality as deputy governor in Ankara after his dismissal. Şar said, "The real perception is that you dismissed the trustee of Esenyurt and appointed him as deputy governor of Ankara. Dismissing him like that does not mean throwing him in prison. The trustee was appointed to another position as if he was rewarded. This is the main issue."