AKP Istanbul mayoral candidate promises to build municipality’s metro line project previously denied by Ankara

Duvar English

Turkish ruling Justice and Development Party’s (AKP) Istanbul mayoral candidate Murat Kurum on March 14 vowed to build the Sefaköy-Avcılar-Beylikdüzü metro line, which has been denied authorization by Ankara to be built by the current Istanbul Municipality administration, run by the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP).

In a social media post, Kurum said they would build the metro line in five years, “reducing E-5 traffic and making public transportation faster, more modern and comfortable.”

In response, CHP Istanbul organization head Özgür Çelik said the construction of the line has not been authorized by Ankara for years.

“Our metro line, which has been waiting for a single signature despite its project and financing being ready, and whose construction has not been allowed for years, has now become an election promise. The future and the comfort of 16 million people were not important for you to sign, you just needed the office,” Çelik added.

After assuming the office in the 2019 local elections, Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu, from the CHP, has often criticized the government and President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan for not approving the municipality's projects and taking over its assets.

During the local election campaign process, Erdoğan on Feb. 26 said that the ruling AKP mayoral candidates would have more resources to govern cities as the party “ran the country,”

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