If elected, Kılıçdaroğlu vows to pay for personal expenses at presidential palace
Main opposition CHP leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu has vowed to pay for his and his family’s personal expenses incurred at the presidential residence if he is elected in the May 14 elections. Kılıçdaroğlu had previously announced that he will move the presidential palace back to the old Çankaya Palace.
Duvar English
Opposition Nation Alliance’s presidential candidate and Republican People’s Party (CHP) leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu has said that he will cover his personal expenses at the presidential residence from his salary if he assumes power in the elections on May 14.
Kılıçdaroğlu had previously announced that he would not reside in the Presidential Palace complex in the Beştepe district and instead move into the old Çankaya Palace, where former presidents used to stay.
In an open letter to journalist Uğur Dündar from the daily Sözcü, Kılıçdaroğlu said that he would not accept the state money allocated for presidents to cover their personal and family expenses at the presidential palace. Kılıçdaroğlu also vowed to undertake a regulation reducing the presidential salary.
“Mr. Dündar, through you, I promise that I will pay all the bills stemming from electricity, natural gas, water, phone and internet use at the section allocated for our residence at Çankaya Palace from my salary. I will also cover the kitchen, personal and special activity expenses at the residential section from my salary,” he wrote.
“I will also use only my salary for all our personal expenses, including our private travels. Our family budget will cover my wife’s personal expenses, including the fee of outfits she will use during travels for which she needs to accompany me, for example, international visits.”