Controversial claim from Imamoglu: They did not send money to only that municipality because they are members of MHP.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's statement "Our Ministry of Treasury and Finance will start collecting the debts of the CHP municipalities at the source" has brought up discussions about the social security premium debts of the CHP municipalities. Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu held a press conference on the matter.

"FIX THE SOCIAL SECURITY FIRST"

Imamoglu stated that the Social Security Institution (SGK) had a deficit of 885 billion in 2023, saying, "They transferred it from the taxpayers. Look at the amount of money they are talking about to go after the CHP municipalities. The report card of the minister who accuses the CHP municipalities of being debt-ridden is in a miserable state. First, fix the SGK that you ruined with your bad management. The SGK is bankrupt, and you did it with your own failure," he said.

"THEY ARE REQUESTING 45 MILLION LIRA IN AID"

In his statement, Imamoglu mentioned that before the elections, the Cekmekoy Municipality requested 45 million lira in aid from the Presidency, and this money was sent without any questions asked. He stated the following: "Listen carefully. I have never seen such a thing in my life, it never even crossed my mind. I couldn't even imagine that they could do such a thing. Look, on January 5, 2024, the Cekmekoy Municipality requested 45 million lira in aid from the Presidency. Look at that! It never crossed my mind to write a letter to the Presidency asking for 45 million lira to help me. We can only think of that letter. He is writing a letter; we see in the document dated February 5, 2024, that the Presidency sent this 45 million lira to Istanbul Cekmekoy Municipality! And it was sent before the elections...

"WHY ARE YOU SENDING THAT MONEY, WHY ARE YOU PAYING?"

So when this 45 million lira was sent to Cekmekoy, how much was the municipality's insurance and tax debt; 100 million lira... While having a debt to the state, they are receiving money from the state, and it's the people's money! Why are you sending 45 million lira without repayment, why are you paying? Now you might say, 'Why are you speaking in such a high tone, Ekrem Imamoglu?' It's 45 million lira, and Allah sent it to one Cekmekoy Municipality, that's why I'm reacting in such a high tone.

"THEY SENT IT TO THE 24, BUT NOT TO 1 MUNICIPALITY"

It's not over yet... Similarly, in January 2024, 45 million lira was sent to Beyoglu Municipality just before the elections. The total grant money sent to Beyoglu Municipality between December 2022 and January 2024, in a 13-month period, is 70 million lira, which never even crossed my mind. Asking for money from the Presidency.

"ASK FOR MONEY FROM THE PRESIDENCY"

I want to give advice to all municipalities in Turkey from here. Write down the amount that comes to your mind and ask for money from the Presidency, let's see how many of you they will send it to. All municipalities in Turkey, local governments, please write a letter to the Presidency on Monday and request money! In fact, my advice to each of you is to request as much money as your SGK debt. My advice is to not do it like them, pay off your SGK debt with the money you receive! I believe in your future too! So why am I speaking in such a high tone, it's just one Cekmekoy and one Beyoglu...

"THEY DIDN'T SEND IT TO THE 24TH, BUT NOT TO 1 MUNICIPALITY"

It's not over yet... By the way, Beyoglu Municipality has a total debt of 198 million lira to public institutions during that period. That is, SGK and tax debts. We saw that the issue is not about Cekmekoy and Beyoglu. They sent 45 million lira in grant money to all AK Party municipalities in Istanbul just before the elections. Even here, there is no conscience... They didn't even send it to one municipality, they had 25 municipalities, they sent it to 24 of them, they didn't send it to one municipality. Do you know why? Because they are MHP members, they didn't send it to Silivri Municipality. They didn't even send it to their partners, can there be such a partnership?

"IT BREAKS MY HEART"

They couldn't even distribute it equally. To Silivri Municipality, which is an MHP municipality... They didn't send it to their partners. Don't laugh, it breaks my heart. They sent 1 billion 80 million lira to 24 district municipalities for the elections, from the Presidency... The President of this nation sent it to the 24 AK Party municipalities in Istanbul, probably to an equal number of Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality mayoral candidates. The current minister... It's clear that he is not the one who lost the election and was appointed as a minister again. This is the amount that he keeps repeating, our participation debt is this much. You can see the party-state logic where public service has been erased from their books. You see, we are against this. I promise in front of my people that if I had a friend who even had a trace of partisanship, I would stand against him."