* Photographs: Anadolu Agency
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After receiving his certificate of election from the İstanbul Provincial Election Council at the Çağlayan Courthouse, Metropolitan Mayor of İstanbul Ekrem İmamoğlu attended the take-over ceremony held in İstanbul Metropolitan Municipality yesterday (April 17).
'I won't let anyone treat you unjustly'
Addressing the public in front of the Metropolitan Municipality building in Saraçhane, Ekrem İmamoğlu stated the following:
"We are bringing peace and love to these beautiful people. We will not treat people differently based on their ethnic backgrounds, races or sects.
"We are bringing peace, we are bringing love to this beautiful city, to these beautiful people. I am saluting everyone, Turks, Kurds, Lazs... I am saluting the Muslims, Sunnis, Alevis, Christians of this city, I am saluting everyone.
"We have never given up on the right, the law and justice. We have never given up on the sense of justice of this city and we will not do so. And I will not let anyone treat you unjustly.
'Let's not let anyone be cold or hungry'
"Put aside all of your resentments, disappointments and disunities. Let's all have positive thoughts and views, let's all have an understanding that will embrace the people of this city.
"Let's not let anyone be cold or hungry in this city. If there were certain elements polarizing and separating you from others, if you have drifted apart because of them and if there are people whom you think you owe greetings, this friend of yours requests you to do something:
"Today, when you leave here, go to these people, shake their hands and extend my most heartfelt regards to them."
'We reject serving individual persons, parties, groups'
"We reject serving ourselves, individual persons, parties, groups, this or that... We are coming to serve the people of the country and this city.
"I will serve everyone, I will serve people from the CHP [Republican People's Party], from the İYİ Party, from the AK Party [Justice and Development Party], from the MHP [Nationalist Movement Party], from the HDP [Peoples' Democratic Party], from the Felicity Party...
'This city will be woman-friendly'
"Only one of my children is here today, two of them are not here, but I am making a promise before my children: The children of this city are my children, the youngsters of the city are my youngsters. I am coming to be their 'brother Ekrem' and to be their friend.
"I am making a promise to the women of this city in the presence of my wife: This city will be a woman-friendly city. It will be a woman-friendly city in terms of its labor, life and participation in life."
Speaking to journalists before the take-over ceremony, Ekrem İmamoğlu also announced that a meeting would be held in İstanbul either on April 20 or 21. The exact date of the meeting is expected to be announced today. (AS/SD)
