Former Ankara Mayor Mustafa Tuna, from the ranks of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), recruited a total of 853 people, mostly for municipal subsidiaries, during the March 31 local election campaign, the Birgün daily reported.
The AKP lost the mayoral election in Ankara to Republican People’s Party (CHP) candidate Mansur Yavaş.
The hiring of new staff at the Ankara Municipality began on Dec.14, 2018, two days after the election calendar was published in the Official Gazette, and continued until the day Yavaş received the mayoral mandate, on April 8.
Among the new recruits, 117 were hired between April 1 and April 8, although they never began work.
An investigation is underway concerning the individuals who were recruited between Dec. 16 and April 1. If they were hired despite a lack of necessary qualifications, they will be fired.
The AKP has been harshly criticized for filling state posts with its cronies despite the lack of proper qualifications.