İmamoğlu: Yıldırım Wanted Questions Beforehand, Yıldırım: He Should Apologize

* Photographs: Anadolu Agency (Archive)

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Ekrem İmamoğlu, the Nation Alliance's İstanbul Metropolitan Mayoral candidate from the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP), has made a statement regarding his live TV debate with ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) candidate Binali Yıldırım on June 16.

Answering the questions of journalists in a live TV program jointly broadcast by NTV and Star TV yesterday (June 11), İmamoğlu claimed that AKP's Yıldırım requested the questions to be asked in their TV debate beforehand.

"Personally speaking, they do not have to send me the questions," Ekrem İmamoğlu indicated further.

Yıldırım denied the allegation: Ugly politics

Yıldırım has responded to the allegation of İmamoğlu on Twitter:

CHP adayı biraz önce ortak canlı yayınla ilgili "Binali Yıldırım soruları istemiş bana bilgi geldi" diyor. Sonra da kendisine tarafların yalanlaması iletildiğinde "öyle değilse yanlış anlamışım" diyor.

— Binali Yıldırım (@BY) 11 Haziran 2019

Posting a tweet on his offical Twitter account, he said, "If he has evidence, he should prove it; if he doesn't, then he should apologize. İstanbulites don't deserve ugly politics based on lies. It is called banality.

"CHP's candidate has just said about the joint live program, 'I am informed that Binali Yıldırım wanted the questions.'

"Afterwards, when he was informed about the refutation of the parties, he said, 'If not, then I must have misunderstood'."

The live TV debate of İmamoğlu and Yıldırım will be broadcast at 9 p.m. on June 16. The program will be moderated by İsmail Küçükkaya.

Moderator Küçükkaya: Questions not ready yet

Speaking to HaberTürk TV, moderator Küçükkaya has responded to the allegation of İmamoğlu and the answer of Yıldırım as follows:

"Firstly, I have not talked to İmamoğlu for days; secondly, no questions have been prepared yet; thirdly, Binali Yıldırım cannot make such a request to me; fourthly, no questions have been preared for the debate and no one can possibly know these questions while or after these questions are prepared, I will not give them to anyone."

Yıldırım deleted his 'Ecumenical Patriarch' tweet

On the other side, People's Alliance's İstanbul candidate Binali Yıldırım celebrated the name day of Rum (Greek) Orthodox Patriarch by calling him "Ecumenical Patriarch" in a tweet yesterday:

"I celebrate the name day of İstanbul Rum Orthodox Patriarchate's Ecumenical Patriarch and İstanbul Archbishop Bartholomeos, I wish him a healthy and long life."

Afterwards, Binali Yıldırım deleted this tweet and posted another one: "I celebrate the name day of Esteemed Rum Orthodox Patriarch Bartholomeos, I wish him a healthy life."

The Republic of Turkey does not officially recognize the "ecumenical" character of the church. (PT/SD)