TRADITIONAL MÜSİAD IFTAR HELD AT THE HEAD OFFICE

The Traditional Iftar Dinner program of the Independent Industrialists and Businessmen Association (MÜSİAD) was held at the Head Office. MÜSİAD President Abdurrahman Kaan, AK Party Deputy Chairman Numan Kurtulmuş, Deputy Minister of Treasury and Finance Nurettin Nebati and many names from the business and political world attended the program

"Our Greatest Wish Is to Spend Our Energy on the Development of Our Country"

MÜSİAD President Abdurrahman Kaan said they found the decision taken by the Supreme Election Council (YSK) to renew the Metropolitan Municipality elections in İstanbul on 23 June to be conscience-easing and appropriate in terms of reflecting the will of the public at the ballot box beyond any doubt. Wishing that this decision and the election on 23 June bring good things for the country, Kaan said, "As the business world, our greatest wish is that, leaving the elections behind, in a period without elections and therefore free of uncertainty, we now spend our energy on the development of our country."

"In the End, the YSK Has Made a Decision to Renew, We Accept It Wholeheartedly"

At the iftar program, Kurtulmuş said that an attempt was being made to create a new atmosphere through the İstanbul elections in order to corner Türkiye.

Stating that the İstanbul local elections had been turned into the atmosphere of a general election from the very beginning, Kurtulmuş said, "An election was held and the will of the nation emerged, but we saw and proved that this will was stolen and usurped at the ballot boxes and that an attempt was made to produce a different result from the ballot box through a number of sleight-of-hand tricks. With the decision of the YSK, the people of İstanbul will go to the polls again on 23 June. Let me say this first of all: as a political movement that has been in power for so many years, our only power will be the power of our nation. We say nothing against the decision that comes out of the ballot box. However, we do not allow the will of the nation to be usurped at the ballot boxes either. That is why the objections that were made were examined and a result emerged."

Recalling that the question "Four votes were cast at the same ballot boxes; one of them was annulled, so why were the others not annulled?" had been asked, Kurtulmuş continued his remarks as follows:

"First, wherever there is an objection, the objections concerning it are examined. Second, only 10 percent of the ballot boxes were recounted, and the difference fell from 28 thousand to 13 thousand. If all of them had been counted, the result at the ballot boxes would have turned out to be exactly the opposite. The YSK made the decision on all of this. Had it made the exact opposite decision, we would again not have opened our mouths and said anything, because one of the best functioning institutions in this country is the institution of the ballot box. There is a way to object. Those who tell us, 'Why are you objecting at the ballot boxes?' are in fact saying, 'Turn a blind eye to these irregularities.' In the end, the YSK has made a decision to renew, and we accept it wholeheartedly. We believe that the nation will make its decision in the best way. What is contrary to the election law is that a significant portion of the ballot box committee chairs were not civil servants but a number of bank and municipality employees. It is entirely contrary to the law.

What business is the renewal of the İstanbul Metropolitan Municipality mayoral election of the US State Department? The spokesperson stands up and makes a statement. I set aside the statements in the newspapers; European Parliament elections are going to be held. Take a look at last week's foreign newspapers: the front page is the renewal of the İstanbul elections, and almost no newspaper has written anything about the European Parliament elections. How curious they are about the İstanbul Metropolitan Municipality elections. What difference does it make whether it is Ahmet or Mehmet at the İstanbul Metropolitan Municipality? Where is democracy, where is the decision of the people, where are the legal processes? Why does not a single Westerner object to the decision to renew the presidential election held in Austria two years ago, while an objection comes a month later to the renewal for the İstanbul Metropolitan Municipality? That is why the İstanbul election, especially if you look at the foreign media, has been brought to a place far more important than the position it occupies."