Özgür Özel: ‘In the Municipalities Union elections, we will not take all of the management based on our majority, we will distribute it proportionally’

CHP leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu said, “On the 5th of the month, the Turkey Municipalities Union management will be elected. The Republican People’s Party will be in the majority there as well. We have announced and talked about it before. Based on our majority, we will not take over the entire management, we will distribute it proportionally.”

Republican People’s Party (CHP) leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu came to Rize to attend the tea rally organized by his party. Özel entered a tea farming field in Gündoğdu neighborhood connected to the center and picked tea with the producers, getting information about tea farming. Then, Özel moved to the July 15 Democracy and Republic Square, where he met with the citizens. After the rally, Özel visited the CHP Rize Provincial Presidency, Pazar Municipality, Ardeşen Municipality, and Fındıklı Municipality.

Making a statement in Fındıklı district, Özel provided information about his party’s SODEM project related to local governments, saying, “There will be slightly more advantageous processes compared to the past. CHP municipalities have organized under the SODEM structure, and a brand-new model will organize the coordination of municipal services, the training, supervision, and mutual solidarity of municipal staff, council members, and mayors both at the beginning and as the process progresses. Disadvantaged districts like Fındıklı, Ardeşen, Pazar must be prioritized here.”

Stating that they have the majority in the upcoming Turkey Municipalities Union elections, Özel expressed that they are working to include everyone in the management to be established, “The Turkey Municipalities Union management will be elected on the 5th of the month. The Republican People’s Party will be in the majority there as well. We have announced and talked about it before. Based on our majority, we will not take over the entire management, we will distribute it proportionally. A sharing will be based on the representation of the population we represent in resources and the added value produced in the place where the service is provided. We will not exclude anyone, but projects of municipalities on social issues such as culture, art, tourism that need to be supported a lot will be prioritized. The Republican People’s Party and its structures will try to provide all the support for finding projects from the European Union and other funds.”

Özel emphasized that the CHP mayors hold the key to bring the CHP to power, “I will repeat something we always say in Fındıklı. I did not say this in Pazar, Ardeşen. Our mayors have a key in their pockets. These keys are not the usual golden key of the municipality or the key to the municipality’s door. It is not the key to the safe. This time there is another key. That key is the key to the future Republican People’s Party government. Good governance, honest governance, transparent governance, and people-oriented governance will open the door to the Republican People’s Party government. We believe that our mayors will use that key in the best way to open the door to our government.”