The Republican People's Party (CHP) introduced the mayoral candidates of 31 districts of Istanbul to the public in the local elections of March 2024, 39. The "Istanbul District Candidates Promotion Meeting", organized under the title of "Great Istanbul Meeting", was held at the Haliç Congress Center. To the meeting; Many CHP MPs, CHP PM members and district mayor candidates attended. The meeting was held with high participation, enthusiasm and as a democracy feast; Slogans were chanted: "Full speed ahead with President Ekrem", "We are Mustafa Kemal's soldiers" and "Everything will be great". After the moment of silence and the National Anthem, respectively; Mayor of Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality (IMM) Ekrem İmamoğlu and CHP Istanbul Provincial Chairman Özgür Çelik made speeches.
ÇELİK: “WE HAVE CARRIED OUT A VERY SENSITIVE CANDIDATE IDENTIFICATION PROCESS”
Çelik, who started his speech with the words "We are embarking on a new path in Istanbul and the 39 districts of Istanbul", said: "Today, we are going to see, together again, the dirty calculations made on Istanbul, where Yahya Kemal said, 'Even loving one district is worth a lifetime.' We are embarking on a new path to distribute. Today, we will introduce you to our candidates in 39 districts of Istanbul. Our Party Assembly has determined our candidates in 39 districts of Istanbul. "First of all, I would like to thank our Chairman Mr. Özgür Özel, our Central Executive Board members and our Party Assembly endlessly and wholeheartedly," he said. Stating that they carried out a very sensitive candidate selection process in Istanbul, Çelik said, “For the first time in a long time, there will be 31 female mayors of Istanbul on March 4. Four female mayors will represent the Republican People's Party in Istanbul. And many of our young friends in Istanbul will represent the Republican People's Party as mayors after March 4. Our friends who were trained in youth branches and who served at various levels of our party in Istanbul will represent our party in Istanbul as mayors. As far as I have followed in recent years, there is a very valuable organization representation in Istanbul. My companion, who has served as district mayor for more than 31 years, will be the mayor of Istanbul. "Our friends who were youth branch presidents will be mayors," he said.
Emphasizing that they will together take the executive and populist municipalism they have implemented in Istanbul since 2019 to a higher level, İmamoğlu said the following in his speech:
“With the strength arising from unity, we will achieve much greater things on behalf of Istanbul. I congratulate all our candidates here. I wish every candidate success and convenience. I would like to thank all our esteemed mayors, our esteemed friends and especially each and every one of them who handed over the flag. I would also like to sincerely thank all our valuable candidates who are candidates and are involved in this process. I would like to wholeheartedly thank our party boards, district and provincial administrations, MYK and PM members, and our esteemed Chairman for fulfilling the assignments. May it bring good luck to our country, city and nation. On this path we set out to represent our party, each of us bears the honorable and heavy responsibility of being a member of the Republican People's Party. We are members of the Republican People's Party who have been sharing the same ideals and values for a hundred years. We follow the path of Gazi Mustafa Kemal Atatürk and we follow his words. In our party, every task is undertaken with the spirit and consciousness of a line of soldiers. The Great Leader said, 'We do not need anything. "We only need one thing very much: To be hardworking," he said. Dear friends, we will be hardworking. We will work hard. We will work hard. “We will work harder than the one who works the hardest.”
Sharing the information that 0 thousand mothers with babies aged 4-650 have benefited from the "Mother Card" application, which they announced as an election promise, İmamoğlu said, "We will create a fair and free city in this city, regardless of anyone's belief, anyone's political opinion, anyone's lifestyle, without discrimination." . Our goal and password are clear: Full speed ahead, my dear friends. Full speed ahead to serve Istanbul. May our path and good luck be good. "We are marching together to the power of 16 million people." said.
CANDIDATES WERE INTRODUCED WITH THEIR FAMILIES
After the speeches, Çelik and İmamoğlu took their places on the stage. CHP district mayors who were invited in alphabetical order were introduced to the public. Their spouses and children did not leave the candidates alone during this time. Following the introduction of the candidates, the presidents of 39 districts and the presidents of women's and youth branches were also invited to the platform. The candidate introduction meeting ended with a group family photo.
