Şehitkamil Municipality Sold 6 Billion TL in Real Estate After Transition to AKP

Gaziantep's Şehitkamil Municipality, through its latest auction, has put up for sale a real estate portfolio with a total estimated value of approximately 6 billion TL following Mayor Umut Yılmaz's transition to the AKP. Sözcü Gazetesi reported.

Yılmaz, who was elected as mayor with 39.6 percent of the vote from the CHP list in the March 31, 2024 elections, received his party badge directly from President Erdoğan.

In the latest auction, 21 properties — including plots of land, shops, residences, and small industrial spaces in the Beylerbeyi, 15 July, October 29, Taşlıca, Şehirgösteren, and İbrahimli neighborhoods as well as in the organized industrial zone — were put up for sale. The estimated value of this auction was set at 717 million 966 thousand TL.

Şehitkamil Municipality was also under AKP administration during the 2014-2019 period; similar discussions regarding real estate sales did not occur in that period. Opposition reactions continue regarding a mayor who came to office through voter votes subsequently changing parties and proceeding with asset sales on this scale.