The İstanbul Municipality will no longer have the authority to regulate zoning and development of real estate around the Bosporus as this responsibility will be transferred to a directorate to be established by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, the Sözcü and Birgün dailies reported.
According to a newly drafted bill, the İstanbul Municipality as well as four district municipalities will be required to transfer their zoning authority around the Bosporus to the soon-to-be-established Bosporus Directorate, all of whose members will be appointed by President Erdoğan.
The 28-article Bosporus Law was drafted by Turkey’s Ministry of Environment and Urban Planning.
Erdoğan’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) lost a repeat mayoral election in İstanbul against main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) candidate Ekrem İmamoğlu. İstanbul had been under the rule of the AKP and its predecessors for the last 25 years.
When the AKP lost the election in İstanbul, many said Erdoğan would not let the new mayor to have a say over the city’s valuable land, especially real estate around the Bosporus. The draft bill is seen as a step by Erdoğan to perpetuate his authority in the city.