Murat Kurum, former Minister of Environment and Urban Planning, was announced by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan as a candidate for the municipality of Istanbul in the March 31 municipal elections, against current mayor Ekrem Imamoglu.

The presentation of Murat Kurum’s candidacy took place at a solemn party gathering in Istanbul, where Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced the mayoral candidates for 11 metropolitan municipalities and 15 municipalities in provincial capitals. The slogan that dominated the event was “Istanbul again”. On January 15, a separate event will be held in Ankara for the announcement of the candidate for the municipality of the Turkish capital.

The 48-year-old Istanbul MP ​​and engineer, Murat Kurum, was a minister from July 2018 to June 2023 in the previous Erdogan government.

He completed his circular studies in Ankara and then graduated from the Civil Engineering Department of Selçuk University in Iconium. Between 1999 and 2005, he worked as an engineer in the construction sector, while from 2006 to 2018 he served in various staff positions in the state Directorate of Social Housing (DSO).

Murat Kurum, as former Minister of Urban Development, is credited with the program of rapid reconstruction of areas affected by the February 6 earthquakes in eastern Turkey. His experience in rebuilding urban areas and in urban regeneration programs implemented by the government in the past is predicted to be the comparative advantage that the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) will put forward to shield Istanbul against the impending major earthquake they predict. the seismologists.

Murat Kurum is married and has three children.

The current mayor Ekrem Imamoglu will be a candidate of the Republican People’s Party (CHRP) in Istanbul.

The March 31 elections are a political gamble for President Erdogan, as Istanbul, with its 18 million inhabitants, is considered the “key” to power for the entire country, and he himself, as the mayor of Istanbul, began his upward journey to the top of Turkish politics in 1994. systemic. In 2019, Ekrem Imamoglu managed for the Kemalist opposition to conquer the country’s largest municipality, for the first time after 31 years.