19.08.2026 18:11
AK Party General Secretary Eyyüp Kadir İnan made a striking statement regarding the arrested and suspended Mayor of Menderes, İlkay Çiçek. İnan said, 'For approximately 1.5 years, he has shown every effort and insistence to join our party. Our party's authorized bodies gave a negative response to this request and rejected it.'
It has been revealed that Menderes Mayor İlkay Çiçek, who was arrested and suspended from duty within the scope of the investigation conducted by the İzmir Republic Chief Public Prosecutor's Office, had struggled for a year and a half to switch to the AK Party before the investigation, but was not accepted into the party by the party administration.
AK PARTY GENERAL SECRETARY EXPLAINED FOR THE FIRST TIME AK Party General Secretary Eyyüp Kadir İnan said, "The Mayor of Menderes has shown every effort and insistence to join our party for about 1.5 years. The authorized committees of our party responded negatively to this request and rejected it."
AK Party General Secretary and İzmir Deputy Eyyüp Kadir İnan visited Acting Mayor of Menderes Asuman Şen at her office within the scope of his İzmir program. AK Party İzmir Deputies Ceyda Bölünmez Çankırı and Atilla Kaya, AK Party Provincial Chairman Bilal Saygılı, and party members attended the visit. İnan then visited the AK Party Menderes District Headquarters. During his visit to AK Party Menderes District Chairman Cengiz Akkuş at his office, İnan said in his statement, "In recent days, a very important, democratic election took place in Menderes. I congratulate Asuman Şen, who was elected as the acting mayor as a result of the election, on behalf of our party. We came together today with our deputies to convey the President's greetings and congratulations to her once again."
CHP MAYOR STRUGGLED FOR 1.5 YEARS TO JOIN THE AK PARTY Stating, "Menderes was a district that got acquainted with AK Party municipality 7.5 years ago and met with very important investments," Eyyüp Kadir İnan said, "At the end of the 7.5-year process, Mr. Özgür Özel and his friends made a choice here and nominated a mayoral candidate. The processes that emerged afterwards are known to both the people of Menderes and our fellow citizens in İzmir. A process occurred that harmed Menderes and indeed involved them in very bad deeds in the name of municipalism. We continue on our way by strengthening with our mayors who join our party. However, both our party spokesperson and we have stated every time how meticulously this joining process is handled. One of those examples is Menderes. The Mayor of Menderes has shown every effort and insistence to join our party for about 1.5 years. The authorized committees of our party responded negatively to this request and rejected it. As in the example of Menderes, we want to remind once again how selective and distinguished we are."
"THEY OWE AN APOLOGY TO ALL OF İZMİR" İnan continued his words as follows:
"We act with the responsibility we feel towards our nation. But I want to remind that some friends, especially Mr. Özgür Özel and his close circle, when nominating this mayoral candidate here, almost said, 'He could even be the Minister of Interior.' Because they owe a huge apology to the people of Menderes. They owe an apology to all of İzmir. Instead of apologizing without shame or embarrassment, they chose to field a candidate here and did not apologize to the people of Menderes. The most important thing in politics, one of the greatest principles set by our President, is the principle 'The harbor of politics is morality.' We have continued to serve our nation by adhering to this principle until now, and from this moment on, we will continue on this path with great determination."
"THE WINNER HAS BEEN MENDERES" Stating that a very strong period has begun in Menderes, Eyyüp Kadir İnan said, "Everyone should be assured that the winner has been Menderes. The winner has been the children, women, and tradesmen living in all neighborhoods of Menderes. Together with our Mayor Asuman, we will strengthen the politics of works and service in Menderes, exert all our strength in the next 3 years, and quickly close this current account deficit."
"WE WILL CONTINUE SERVICE MUNICIPALISM IN İZMİR WITH GREAT DETERMINATION" Emphasizing that they provide strong local services in Menderes and Aliağa, İnan said, "Major services that do not exist in the central districts of İzmir have truly materialized in Menemen and Aliağa. We will show the same determination in Menderes. But that is not enough; hopefully, in the first local election after the next 3 years, we will meet our fellow İzmir citizens with great faith and the same determination, overcome İzmir's unfortunate fate, and continue service municipalism in İzmir with great determination. We celebrated the 25th anniversary of our party. For 25 years, İzmir has always given great support to our President and our party. In the 35th year of our party, we will continue on our way with great determination as the cadres who have solved all of İzmir's problems, left behind its chronic issues, and made it a world city. Today, our party, together with our People's Alliance, is the first party in our İzmir. We continue on our way by strengthening with great favor from the people of İzmir. The election in Menderes has been one of the strongest examples of this."
"LET THEM APOLOGIZE FIRST" Answering the questions of the press members, Eyyüp Kadir İnan said regarding the question about the elections being taken to the judiciary, "The legal path is open. We have no reservations about this. However, just as it is their natural right to take this process to the judiciary, political parties exist to serve the nation. They are also indispensable elements of our democracy. They have to account for the 2.5 years of time loss they caused the people of Menderes. Therefore, the primary authority political parties must answer to today is our noble nation. Let the Republican People's Party and the New Party first fulfill their political responsibilities. Let them first apologize to our fellow citizens in Menderes. Then, let them resort to whatever democratic option they can think of."
AK Party Menderes District Chairman Cengiz Akkuş also said, "We are experiencing historic days in Menderes. Hopefully, in a very short time, our district will get acquainted with AK Municipalism, and we will receive services quickly. I believe in this. May God not shame us on this path we have embarked on."