Ankara, İzmir mayors receive mandates to take office
ANKARA/ İZMİR
The newly elected mayors of Ankara and İzmir received their certificates of election on April 8 from Turkey’s Supreme Election Council (YSK).
Ankara Mayor Mansur Yavaş and İzmir Mayor Tunç Soyer, both from the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP), were elected in the March 31 local elections in Turkey.
Yavaş, a joint candidate for the CHP and İYİ (Good) Party, took office one week after the local elections following a recount of invalid votes in 11 of Ankara’s districts demanded by the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP). But a ballot review showed Yavaş was again ahead of his rival, AKP candidate Mehmet Özhaseki, by nearly 124,000 votes.
On April 7, the YSK rejected the AKP’s request for a full recount of all votes in 13 districts in Ankara.
“People living in Ankara will enjoy living in Ankara more. The election is over, whatever happened is left behind. We have no hatred, no grudge. There will be no distinction between employees [in the municipality] and those who do not vote in Ankara,” Yavaş said in his first statement as mayor of Ankara.
“From now on, we will embrace everyone and will try to provide equal services in Ankara. Justice and merit will be at the forefront during our services,” he added.
Millions of Turkish voters cast their votes on March 31 in the local elections to choose Turkey’s mayors, city council members, neighborhood officials (mukhtar in Turkish), and members of elderly councils for the next five years.
Meanwhile, CHP candidate for İzmir, Tunç Soyer, handed over his post as mayor of Seferihisar municipality, a district of İzmir, on April 8 and took his certificate of election for İzmir Municipality, the greater province.
“I will work with love to protect this city and move it further, and to make all those people live in this city with honor, regardless of whether or not they voted for me,” he said.
Click here for local election results in Ankara according to Anadolu Agency
Click here for local election results in İzmir according to Anadolu Agency
