Istanbul elections: Recep Erdogan threatens the loss of his money machine. Tayyip Erdogan threatens the loss of his money machine

Because: Who controls the City Hall in the Bosphorus, has a big budget. Erdogans Justice and Development Party (AKP) has been using the city’s coupons for several years to add millions of dollars in subsidies and well-paid jobs to supporters. If she loses the […] filed a complaint about “organized irregularities” in the election process, and under great pressure, the election commission finally pushed the result in early May and ordered the new election.

However, Erdogans people risk a lot if they lose it again a gigantic embarrassment. But the loss of Istanbul seemed to hurt her too much.

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Ekrem Imamoglu: Exit the Waste System

For a long time, opponents have suggested that Erdogan Loyal would have enriched it massively. The city administration is said to have provided officials and their relatives with lucrative services and preferred friendly contractors when awarding municipal contracts. Erdogan’s son-in-law, today’s economics minister, Berat Albayrak, is said to have become very rich in his time as head of a company called Calik Holding.

Religious foundations also received a lot of money AKP’s management in Istanbul. Probably no coincidence: Erdogan’s stated goal is to draw a “pious generation” of the Turks. Youth and educational foundations with names like Türgev, Tügva or Ensar play a key role here. They run dormitories, organize Quran classes and award scholarships to students. Some of these foundations have Islamic brotherhoods, others are closely related to AKP and Erdogan’s family.

“It’s about the citizens’ money”

For a year and a half before the election in March, Istanbul’s city administration has supported these conservative Islamic foundations by Lit 847 million (about 160 million euros). This is evident an internal report published by the City Council City Council Tarik Balyali. With donations of 74.3 million lira, the Turkish youth foundation (Tügva) was at the forefront. In his board: Erdogan’s son Bilal.

Secondly, the Turkish Fund for Youth and Education Services (Türgev) was Lira 51.6 million. Erdogan’s oldest daughter, Ezra, is the wife of Economy Minister Albayrak. And the man in Erdogan’s second daughter Sümeyye, the armament contractor Selcuk Bayraktar, directs the board of the Turkish Technology Foundation (T3). She received 41.1 million lira in Istanbul. “All these foundations are related to the AKP and Erdogans family, and of course they do not want to lose the huge sums,” says opposition politician Balyali. “Their goal is to create a generous generation that is true to the AKP.”

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Erdogan’s family: son-in-law Albayrak with daughter Ezra, son Bilal and daughter Sümeyye (archive picture)

Sociologist Mehmed Ali Caliskan finds it fundamental to promote religious foundations. After all, they would offer services for which there is a need in society’s conservative parts. “However, the question is what criteria the funds are allocated,” says the researcher the Istanbul Yada Foundation. To date, there is no transparency in awarding contracts and funds.

“This is about the citizens’ money, so the city administration and the foundations must give an account,” says Caliskan. Another problem is that AKP only promotes Sunni conservative foundations. Of course there are not only hostile Sunnis in Turkey, but also other groups such as secular and Alevis.

If Imamoglu was re-elected […] city administration no longer “serves certain individuals, associations, foundations and societies”. He wants to use all millions to fund his election crews, for example for scholarships or day care centers. Erdogan will care that it will not.

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