Tancu Ozcan, the mayor of Turkey's Bolu municipality of the opposition Republican People's Party (CHP), has announced his intention to build a statue of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in the state, fulfilling a promise he made earlier during the election campaign.
In response to a question from a mayor, Ozcan said: "If we make a promise we will not break it, this statue must be in the place where Erdogan received the highest number of votes."
He added that Erdogan won 90 percent of the vote in the Dortdevan district and "I call on the municipality to choose the right place, and we will build the statue."
Ozcan tweeted in April: "A word of honor if Tayyip Erdogan wins. In the elections. I will build a statue of him in the most visible place in Bolu."
"Erdoğan kazanırsa heykelini dikeceğim" diyen Bolu Belediye Başkanı Tanju Özcan:
Biz bir söz verdiysek dönmeyiz. Erdoğan'ın en yüksek oy aldığı yerde olmalı bu heykel. Dörtdivan'da yüzde 90 oy almış. Dörtdivan Belediyesi bize bir yer göstersin. pic.twitter.com/P2d9v6seZd
— Jeddah (@gundemedairhs) June 3, 2023
Claim for fulfillment
AKP youth in the northern state of Bolu had earlier brought bags of cement to the town hall in order to demand that its president fulfill an earlier promise he had made if Erdogan won a new term.
Bolu Belediye Başkanı tanju Özcan'ın, Başkan Erdoğan'ın seçilmesi durumunda heykelini dikeceğini söylemesinin ardından bir grup genç, belediye binası önüne 10 torba çimento bıraktı. pic.twitter.com/n1LaatFHFF
— Haber 7 (@Haber7) May 30, 2023
Ozcan is known for his hostility to migrants and refugees, and has stirred controversy more than once with his inflammatory statements against them, including announcing a plan to repatriate Syrian refugees by setting up camps and placing them there.
In 2021, the municipality of Bolu took decisions targeting foreigners, by increasing the fees for marriage contracts and water fees for foreign citizens residing in the city, according to the Turkish newspaper "Yeni Safak", but a court later annulled this decision.
Bolu Belediye Başkanı Tanju Özcan'ın, Cumhurbaşkanı Erdoğan'ın seçimleri kazanması durumunda heykelinin dikeceğini söylemesinin ardından belediye binasının önüne 10 torba çimento torbası bırakıldı pic.twitter.com/QjeJYgu8KH
— Burak Doğan (@doganburak29) May 30, 2023
Elections and results
The High Election Commission in Turkey announced Erdogan's re-election for a new term after winning the second round of the presidential elections that took place on Sunday, May 28.
The body said in a statement that the candidate of the "Republic" alliance (Erdogan) won 52.14% of the votes, while his rival candidate for the "People's" alliance, the leader of the Republican People's Party (Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu), received 47.86%.
Turkey witnessed the organization of the second round of presidential elections for the first time in its modern history, after the failure of candidates to obtain (50% + one vote) in the first round that took place on May 14.