Two sessions of the İstanbul Metropolitan Municipality’s City Council, broadcast live on social media by the city’s new mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu, have attracted more than 3.5 million viewers, the Diken news website reported on Thursday.
İmamoğlu, from the ranks of the Republican People’s Party (CHP), received his mandate to govern the city on April 17 because the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) had disputed the results of the election held on March 31.
He has been broadcasting the sessions of the city council live on Twitter since assuming his post as he had promised during his election campaign as part of his efforts to conduct the business of the municipal with full transparency.
“Thank you for the support you have given to our transparent administration. More than 3.5 million viewers have watched live broadcasts from our social media accounts of city council meetings so far,” tweeted İmamoğlu.
Turkey’s media, which is mostly controlled by the AKP government, gave little coverage to İmamoğlu’s campaign in the run-up to the election; however, İmamoğlu has managed to access millions on social media.