Özlem Çerçioğlu: I was never a distant mayor from our President.

15.08.2025 20:50

A statement that will be widely discussed has come from Özlem Çerçioğlu, the Mayor of Aydın Metropolitan Municipality, who switched from the CHP to the AK Party. Çerçioğlu said, "I was never a distant mayor to our esteemed president. Those who I saw in the hall where the badge was pinned, whether I knew them or not, treated me warmly as if they were seeing a sister or an older sister."

Sure! Here is the translated HTML content with the text and the `title` and `alt` attributes of the `img` tags translated into English:



```html

The news of Aydın Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Özlem Çerçioğlu's transition from CHP to AK Party has hit the agenda like a bomb. Çerçioğlu, who received her badge directly from President Erdoğan, made a striking statement.

ÇERÇİOĞLU: I WAS NEVER A DISTANT MAYOR TO OUR PRESIDENT

Speaking to tv100, Çerçioğlu said: "I was never a distant mayor to our esteemed president. During my presidency, whenever our esteemed president came to Aydın, I always welcomed him because he is the president of our country."

"WE HAVE ALWAYS HAD A GOOD FRIENDSHIP"

We have always had a good friendship with him. When I came to the party, the ministers and party officials really welcomed me warmly, which made me very happy, of course.

"LEAVING CHP IS NOT EASY"

It is not easy to leave a party I have been in politics with for almost a quarter of a century, but as I stated in my statements, there was no longer a situation to do politics here. God bless them, everyone I saw in the hall where the badge was pinned treated me warmly as if they had seen a sister or an older sister.

"I NEVER ENGAGED IN PARTISANSHIP IN AYDIN"

I am already a mayor who has received the favor of all Aydın residents by getting votes above the general elections. I have always been elected with votes above 50 in local elections. After I was elected, I never engaged in partisanship in Aydın, and all Aydın residents know this.

After being elected, I took off the party shirt and did everything we could to serve all Aydın residents without any discrimination. This was the case yesterday, and it will continue this way today. Therefore, as of now, I have no doubt about Aydın province. Just as I was Özlem, the mayor of Aydın residents yesterday, I am still Özlem, the mayor of Aydın residents today."