29.10.2026 17:23
In the operation targeting Bakırköy Municipality, Mayor Ayşegül Ovalıoğlu, whose 86-year-old father and aides were detained, made her first statement. Addressing municipal employees, Ovalıoğlu said, “Until now, I have not had a lawyer. I never needed one.” Stating that the searches had been completed, Ovalıoğlu used the phrase, “We are all at our posts.” In the operation, detention decisions had been issued for 68 people.
Bakırköy Mayor Ayşegül Ovalıoğlu, who was expected to join the New Party today but was faced with an operation carried out in the morning hours, made a brief statement addressing her colleagues. Ovalıoğlu said they would continue the municipality's work with the same determination.
“MY FAMILY HAS NEVER HAD A LAWYER UNTIL NOW”
Ovalıoğlu, stating that the operation brought Bakırköy onto the agenda, claimed that this was done to cover up other agenda items. Ovalıoğlu said, “Unfortunately, today Bakırköy became an agenda item. Bakırköy needed to be on the agenda. Because in the current national agenda, Bakırköy needed to be on the agenda today to cover up other agenda items. In the early hours, they took my colleagues, families, and my family into custody, taking them from their homes and bringing them in for statements.”
Emphasizing that those taken into custody were people who could give statements whenever called, Ovalıoğlu spoke as follows:
“Although these people could go and give their statements whenever they were called, they had their doors knocked on in front of their families and children, were taken into custody, their homes were searched, and they were brought in for statements. They were taken into custody. Four deputy mayors, our department directors, our working staff, and our family... They ask, ‘What is the connection?’ They ask, ‘Mayor, do you have a lawyer?’ Until now, I have not had a lawyer. I never needed one. They ask, ‘Does your family have a lawyer?’ My family has never had any lawyer. We have never needed a lawyer.”
“WE ARE ALL AT OUR POSTS”
Stating that they had spoken with the families of those taken into custody and that the lawyers were with them, Ovalıoğlu said, “This morning, our municipality was visited with an operation. Searches were conducted. They completed them, colleagues. They finished their work. We will continue to do our work with the same determination and, for our country and a bright future, in the same way, with proper state discipline and public seriousness. We are all at our posts.”
CUSTODY DECISION FOR 68 PEOPLE
The Bakırköy Chief Public Prosecutor's Office announced in a statement in the morning that gendarmerie teams had carried out an operation against Bakırköy Municipality. Of the 68 people for whom custody decisions had been issued, 57 were taken into custody. Among those taken into custody were Ovalıoğlu's 86-year-old father, her maternal uncle and municipal council member Metin Soğuksu, and deputy mayors Arda Karadağ, Nurcan Alan, Cemalettin Özdemir, and Abdülhamit Pehlivan. Ali Rıza Akyüz, who was released at the September 6 hearing in the IBB case, was also taken into custody.
“BID-RIGGING” AND “GRAFT” ALLEGATION
According to the prosecutor's office's statement, the investigation is being conducted regarding the crimes of “bid-rigging” and “graft.” Within the investigation, 42 procurement tenders for goods and services that the municipality held through different directorates between 2024 and 2026 were subjected to expert examination. In the complaints, it was alleged that irregularities in the tenders caused public losses. It was also alleged that money was requested from businesses seeking work permits and operating licenses, and that the procedures of those who did not pay were delayed.
VISITS AND REACTIONS
Following the operation, Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality Deputy Mayor Nuri Aslan and Küçükçekmece Mayor Kemal Çebi visited Bakırköy Municipality. New Party Istanbul MP Gökan Zeybek also reacted to the operations against the Bakırköy and Merkezefendi municipalities, saying, “Those who concern themselves not with the citizens' troubles but with their seats will suffer a very great defeat at the first ballot box.”