Newly elected CHP mayor cancels municipality's pro-gov't daily subs, saving half million Liras

Duvar English

In Kastamonu province, one of the municipalities won by the main opposition Republican Peeople’s Party (CHP) after decades, the newly elected mayor Hasan Baltacı cancelled the annual subscriptions of three pro-government newspapers for which almost half a million lira was paid.

Baltacı announced on his social media account that they cancelled the municipality’s subscriptions to the Yeni Şafak, Türkiye and Sabah dailies, for which incurred an annual cost of 426,000 liras.

Baltacı added, "Local press subscriptions are also being evaluated for reconsideration.”

After taking over the office from the government’s far-right partner Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), Baltacı said, "There is no money left in the municipality to pay even the salaries.”

He noted, "While we had to pay 84.94 million liras to our staff as a gross salary with bonuses before the Eid, we paid all of our staff's salaries and some of their bonuses because we only had 52.98 million liras.”

MHP and the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) has ruled the Black Sea province for the last two decades. 

After many opposition mayors won against previous mayors from the ruling coalition in the last local elections, they have been criticizing previous office holders due to their lavish spending and leaving behind substantial debts.

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