Municipal changes slammed

ANKARA

Three neighborhoods will be removed from the jurisdiction of Istanbul’s Şişli Municipality and handed over to Sarıyer Municipality if a proposal included in a draft law on metropolitan municipalities comes to pass.

The neighborhoods of Huzur, Ayazağa and Maslak, a main financial center in Istanbul will be included in Sarıyer Municipality if the bill is approved by Parliament’s General Assembly. Main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) lawmakers have accused the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) of seeking to reshape election constituencies in its favor. “The AKP aims to win [local] elections in Sarıyer with this change. They are changing the balance in Sarıyer by displacing three neighborhoods,” CHP deputy Ali Serindağ said yesterday at a press conference in Parliament.

Sarıyer’s current mayor was elected from the CHP in 2009 after gaining 37 percent of the votes and beating his rival from the AKP who received 31 percent. Şişli Mayor Mustafa Sarıgül also voiced his discontent over the ruling party’s plan.