“WE PROVIDE SERVICES WITHIN THE FRAMEWORK OF THE PRINCIPLE OF EQUALITY”
“DETENTION SEPARATES MAYORS FROM THEIR FAMILIES”
“ACCESS TO EXTERNAL FUNDS IS BLOCKED”
ANKARA –
The Vehicle Handover Ceremony organized by the Union of Municipalities of Turkiye (UMT) was held at the Çankaya Municipality Campus with the participation of UMT Vice President and Adana Metropolitan Mayor Zeydan Karalar.
As part of the donation program implemented under the principle of “Fair and Equal Service to All Municipalities,” 62 service vehicles were granted to municipalities affiliated with the Justice and Development Party (AK Party), Republican People’s Party (CHP), Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), Great Unity Party (BBP), Democracy and Progress Party (DEVA), Democratic Party, Left Party, Felicity Party (SP), and New Welfare Party (YRP). The selection was made based on the municipalities’ socio-economic status, surface area, population, needs, and requests.
The ceremony was also attended by UMT Executive Committee members, including Adıyaman Mayor Abdurrahman Tutdere, Nevşehir Mayor Rasim Arı, Diyarbakır Metropolitan Mayor Ayşe Serra Bucak Küçük, Artvin Mayor Bilgehan Erdem, Selçuk Mayor Filiz Ceritoğlu Sengel, as well as mayors and officials from the municipalities receiving the vehicles.
“Detained mayors unlawfully separated from their families”
Recalling the detention of several mayors, including UMT and Istanbul Metropolitan Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu, Karalar stated:
“Some of our mayors from opposition parties are being held unjustly and unlawfully. They spent Eid al-Adha, Mother’s Day, and Father’s Day separated from their families.”
Sharing his observations from the Council of European Municipalities and Regions Leaders’ Summit, Karalar noted that such practices have not been accepted by the international community either.
“We support municipalities without political discrimination”
Karalar emphasized in his speech that the Union provides support to all municipalities in line with the principle of equality:
“Our Union, under Ekrem İmamoğlu’s term, has started to serve all municipalities without any discrimination, taking into account criteria such as need, population, socio-economic status, and surface area.”
He underlined their commitment to a non-partisan approach, saying:
“We are handing over these vehicles to municipalities affiliated with the Republican People’s Party, Justice and Development Party, Nationalist Movement Party, Democracy and Progress Party, Democratic Party, Felicity Party, Left Party, New Welfare Party, and Great Unity Party.”
Karalar stressed that no mayor is afraid of being audited or prosecuted, adding:
“You cannot remove elected officials and appoint trustees in their place. Not long ago, the President himself said, ‘We must make trustee appointments the exception.’ He thereby acknowledged that appointing trustees is not the right approach. But even an exception is unacceptable. We must completely abolish this practice.”
Criticizing delays in legal proceedings, Karalar said:
“Draft the indictments and start the trials immediately. Our colleagues have been in custody for over three months, and some even longer. Clearly, there must be evidence if you have arrested them. If you don’t draft the indictments, it means you don’t have evidence.”
“Sovereignty unconditionally belongs to the nation”
Quoting Mustafa Kemal Atatürk’s principle, “Sovereignty unconditionally belongs to the nation,” Karalar asserted:
“We will never abandon this or any other of Atatürk’s principles. We will continue to defend the rights of our people and strengthen our democracy. Under Ekrem İmamoğlu’s leadership, our Union has started providing services to municipalities based on equality, considering socio-economic status, surface area, needs, demands, and population. We are committed to continuing this approach. There is roughly a 55-45 balance; sometimes it is 60-40. In other words, about 55% or 60% of the vehicles go to municipalities aligned with the Nation Alliance and about 45% to those of the People’s Alliance.”
“No mayor has refused to pay”
Highlighting the financial difficulties faced by municipalities, Karalar shared details of discussions held with government officials:
“We have repeatedly said that this new policy—never applied before—will severely strain municipalities and hinder their ability to provide services. In the past, debts would accumulate, and the state would issue a restructuring program, cancel interest, or restructure at lower interest rates. This is what we requested. No mayor denies their debts or says, ‘I won’t pay.’ However, the pandemic, earthquakes, and economic hardships have not increased municipal revenues proportionately to their expenditures, making it extremely difficult for them to deliver services.”
Karalar also reiterated their calls for restructuring:
“Our request has been for restructuring. If not, collect the principal first, then the interest. Right now, a 54% annual interest rate is being applied—4.5% monthly. You pay 100 lira, 54 goes to interest, and only 46 is counted towards the principal. This is an injustice. Moreover, municipal revenues must be increased. Currently, only 6% of tax revenues are allocated to municipalities. This must be raised to 8% immediately and to 11% within a certain period. They say, ‘There’s an economic crisis; we have no money.’ But I say, start from 2026. They have no choice but to act; otherwise, municipalities will be unable to provide services. We will continue to push for this.”
“Access to external funds is blocked”
Karalar also criticized restrictions on municipalities seeking external funding:
“They say, ‘Municipalities with social security or tax debts cannot benefit from external funds.’ If a mayor has secured external financing without requiring a Treasury guarantee, they should be left alone. We stand with our municipalities through all such challenges and will continue to be strong. We believe that as our municipalities grow stronger, the welfare of our people will also increase.”
Following Karalar’s speech, symbolic keys were handed over to the mayors of the recipient municipalities, and the donated vehicles set off to their respective destinations across Turkiye.