A controversial figure in Turkish politics and urban development has emerged as the İstanbul mayoral candidate for the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP).
Murat Kurum, who was nominated by party leader and president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan as the AKP’s candidate for mayor of the city of İstanbul, is under particular scrutiny as he’s running against the incumbent Republican People’s Party (CHP) mayor, Ekrem İmamoğlu.
The CHP seized control of İstanbul for the first time since Erdoğan ruled the city as mayor in the 1990s in watershed 2019 polls, which many say was the worst political defeat Erdoğan has suffered in his political career.
Kurum, 47, who began his political career under the AKP, was elected as a member of parliament for Istanbul in the May elections and previously held an important role as minister of environment and urban planning.
The 47-year-old Kurum studied civil engineering at Selçuk University in Turkey’s conservative heartland of Konya. He worked in the private sector until 2005 following his graduation in 1999. Kurum was recruited by Turkey’s state-run housing authority, TOKİ, in 2005 where he served in various positions. From 2009 to 2018, when he was first appointed minister of environment, he held senior positions at Emlak Konut GYO, a Turkish real estate developer belonging to TOKİ.
During his tenure as minister, Kurum carried out several campaigns for extensive affordable housing and a number of urban redevelopment projects in cooperation with TOKİ. Under his leadership, 365,000 affordable housing units were reportedly built. He strongly supported President Erdoğan’s ambitious “Kanal İstanbul” project, a proposed artificial waterway in İstanbul, claiming it would position Turkey as a global player.
During Kurum’s term in office, the ministry in 2020 approved the environmental impact assessment report (ÇED) for the Kanal İstanbul project, an artificial sea-level waterway bisecting the European side of İstanbul to connect the Black Sea to the Marmara and Mediterranean seas.
The ministry’s move came despite growing public opposition to the construction of the channel, which Turkish President Erdoğan dubbed his “crazy project.”
After the ministry received the ÇED report, thousands of İstanbulites formed long queues in front of provincial urbanization offices to sign petitions against the realization of the project. The city’s mayor, İmamoğlu is also strongly against the project.
Opponents of the project and environmental groups say the construction will cost too much and wreak environmental havoc.
Legislation for a “construction amnesty,” under which previously illegal buildings were approved without requiring that they comply with an updated building code, was passed shortly before Kurum’s appointment as minister. During his term in office, a total of 438,000 property owners benefited from the legislation and had their buildings approved by paying a fine without the need to conform to the building code, putting the responsibility for earthquake readiness on the property owners.
This policy was criticized for increasing the risk of earthquake damage and allowing uncontrolled construction without paying due attention to safety. Major earthquakes that struck Turkey’s south in February and led to the death of 50,000 people increased public questioning over the share of government responsibility in the high death toll, which many attributed to the actions taken by the AKP such as the construction amnesty.
Amid his political rise, Kurum’s past involvement in the 2013 corruption and bribery investigations casts a long shadow.
In late 2013 Turkey was shaken by corruption investigations implicating then-prime minister and current president Erdoğan’s inner circle.
Erdoğan’s AKP government subsequently suppressed the corruption scandal by managing to control the judiciary by creating special criminal courts headed by a single judge, thanks to the AKP’s parliamentary majority.
These judges then jailed all the police and prosecutors who had conducted the 2013 corruption investigations, while Erdoğan and his family members who were implicated have never appeared in court.
As managing director of Emlak Konut GYO, a construction company, Kurum was recorded in wiretaps in which he discussed irregularities with the then-minister of environment and urban planning, Erdoğan Bayraktar. These conversations, which included controversial guidelines for the tender of the construction of the Çamlıca Mosque in İstanbul and preferential permits for a hospital that belonged to Health Minister Fahrettin Koca, were leaked to the press. Although Kurum confirmed these recordings at a parliamentary committee hearing, the investigation was closed in 2014 without charges being brought.
Kurum’s tenure as minister was marked by decisions often viewed as harmful to the environment and public safety. The renaming of his ministry in 2021 to include “climate change” was seen by some as a superficial gesture, overshadowed by his track record of prioritizing development at the expense of ecological and urban welfare.
Another controversial image from Kurum’s time as minister was the use of heavy equipment at Lake Salda, known as the “Maldives of Turkey” for its unique turquoise shores, to create a public garden commissioned by the government.
NASA’s interest in the lake, due to its geological similarities with Mars, particularly the presence of hydromagnesite sediment, has elevated the lake’s profile. This heightened interest, combined with Erdoğan’s initiative to incorporate the lake into a public green space project, has sparked concerns among local activists and environmentalists. Despite its ecological importance and scientific value, excessive tourism and infrastructure development threaten the lake, jeopardizing not only its natural beauty but also the delicate balance that makes it a subject of scientific interest and a candidate for protection as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Under Kurum’s watch, images of construction equipment working for a government project next to the pristine shore drew ire.
The Turkish parliament’s recent enactment of a controversial law, championed by the ruling AKP and supported by Kurum, has sparked widespread criticism for potentially infringing on property rights.
This law, focusing on the transformation of urban areas deemed at risk of disasters such as earthquakes, allows the government to expropriate homes through administrative decisions. Critics, including prominent opposition figures and concerned citizens, argue that the law is alarmingly vague and lacks clear criteria for identifying disaster-prone areas. This ambiguity raises fears about a possible abuse of power and unwarranted displacement of residents and park areas for development purposes.
Kurum announced in March that a huge reserve area of 130 million square meters had been designated in İstanbul. He unveiled ambitious plans for the construction of 1.5 million housing units, half of which are planned on the European side and the other half on the Anatolian side of İstanbul.
The AKP’s approach, which is often criticized for encouraging economic growth through the construction of buildings, is seen by many as unsustainable and benefiting a few through alleged corruption and cronyism. Kurum, a key figure in these urban planning initiatives, has come under scrutiny for his role in facilitating these controversial policies.