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Alper Yeğin, the new mayor of İstanbul’s Sancaktepe district from the main opposition party, has revealed the municipality’s debts and lavish spending during the tenure of the former mayor of the district from the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP).
Yeğin, from the Republican People’s Party (CHP), assumed office after winning a decisive victory in the March 31 local elections, garnering 50.5 percent of the vote and ending the 15-year rule of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s AKP in the district.
The mayor on Tuesday shared on X a list detailing the municipality’s debts, item by item, which was also displayed outside the municipal building on a large poster.
“We will change the fate of this district,” Yeğin said in the tweet.
Bu ilçenin kaderini değiştireceğiz. pic.twitter.com/OH6SD0iLrr
— Alper Yeğin (@alperyegin_) April 16, 2024
According to the list, the municipality has debt totaling 1.9 billion lira ($48.5 million), more than 804 million lira of which consists of obligations to building contractors.
A report by SZC TV on Tuesday also revealed the former mayor’s lavish spending on the municipal building, which has two conference rooms, two bathrooms, a lounge area, a room available for rest and a kitchen for the use of the mayor, in addition to two dining rooms, three private secretary rooms and eight offices and bathrooms for each deputy mayor.
Kasasında maaş ödeyecek nakiti olmayan, 2 Milyar TL borcu olan Sancaktepe belediyesinin Başkanlık Katı👇
🔹2 başkanlık makam odası
🔹2 başkanlık banyosu
🔹1 başkanlık şark köşesi
🔹1 başkanlık dinlenme odası
🔹1 başkanlık mutfağı
🔹2 yemek salonu
🔹3 özel kalem odası
🔹8 başkan… pic.twitter.com/UYplKEmCtw— İstanbul Başardı (@istanbulbasardi) April 16, 2024
Journalist İsmail Saymaz from SZC TV also posted photos from inside the building, saying that it is like “a miniature palace.”
Sancaktepe Belediyesi, yavru saray gibi… pic.twitter.com/2pWSqwAA9p
— İsmail Saymaz (@ismailsaymaz) April 16, 2024
After assuming office for the first time after the 2019 elections, İstanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu also revealed files detailing illegal spending and irregularities in the municipality during AKP rule, filing criminal complaints against 23 people.
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and the AKP politicians frequently draw criticism for wasting taxpayers’ money due to their lavish spending and luxurious lifestyles at a time of increased poverty in the country.