Beyoğlu governor denies CHP-run municipality staff's entry to offices

Duvar English

The Beyoğlu District Municipality run by the Turkish main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) administration on Sept. 19 announced that officials were denied entry to municipal offices located in the district governor’s building.

The Beyoğlu Municipality said that some of its municipal administrators were being denied entry to their offices inside the district governor’s building. “Necessary legal actions will be taken against those responsible. We remind you that obstructing public services and public officials is illegal," warned the district municipality. 

Beyoğlu Mayor İnan Güney reacted to the obstruction on social media. He stated, "I call on  those responsible to respect the wisdom of the state and the will of the people of Beyoğlu. I remind them that what is being done amounts to punishing an entire district. 

The mayor assured residents that services would not be disrupted. “We will exercise all our administrative and legal rights to defend Beyoğlu’s rights and the rule of law,” he added. 

Before the March 31 local elections, the municipality and the Beyoğlu District Governor’s Office, which is connected to the government, shared the building, but after the election, the municipality was asked to vacate.

Istanbul Metropolitan Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu visited the historical building previously used as Ottoman barracks with Beyoğlu Mayor İnan Güney and municipal officials yesterday.

Imamoğlu commented that before the local elections of 2024, the building was divided for the simultaneous use of the district municipality and governor. Service continued without problems and even signs were posted on the building for both the municipality and the governorship.  

Calling the situation “tragic,” İmamoğlu cast doubt on the governorship’s decision to use the entire building after the municipal administration switched to CHP in the local elections. 

Speaking on Sept. 20 at a gathering of civil society members and community leaders in the northern Tokat province, İmamoğlu noted, "Look, even this is enough reason for a government to fall, my friends. I say this here: I don’t know how long my political career or my position will last. But if someone from my own party did something similar, and I didn’t stand against them, then Ekrem İmamoğlu would be a coward."

Resul Emrah Şahan, President of the Social Democratic Municipalities Association (SODEM) and Mayor of Istanbul’s Şişli district expressed support for Güney, saying, "We stand by Beyoğlu’s elected mayor, İnan Güney. We want it known that we are against any obstacles to the provision of public services by the municipality."