The mayor of Istanbul announced on Wednesday that he scrapped the spokesperson’s office for the municipality, a post he created after his 2019 election, following a string of controversies involving spokesperson Murat Ongun. Ongun, who also serves as an adviser to Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu and CEO of a municipality company, will retain those posts.
The spokesperson, the public face of the municipality serving more than 15 million people, was often at odds with the opposition, namely supporters of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party), which lost the municipal elections for the city to İmamoğlu’s Republican People’s Party (CHP). Ongun most recently came under fire for a ski vacation in Switzerland while Istanbul grappled with traffic woes during one of the worst snowfalls in its history in January. A media-savvy figure, Ongun was absent as the municipality was criticized for inadequate response to the disastrous snowfall. He defended that he was able to work remotely.
He also drew the ire of supporters of İmamoğlu, who criticized the mayor for inviting a journalist they named “pro-government” to İmamoğlu’s recent trip to the Black Sea region for what is viewed as a “rehearsal” for the mayor’s ambitions to run for president in next elections. However, the media outlets quoted Ongun as saying they did not care about the criticism.
Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of an event, İmamoğlu said the post was canceled but Murat Ongun, “a valuable friend,” would continue serving in other posts at the municipality. “It was my decision to create the post but I decided to remove it,” he said, “due to a number of consequences it caused, public reaction and unfortunately, due to attempts of disinformation by our political rivals.”
