Burdur Governor Tells AKP Lawmaker 'I'll Take You Down', Lawmaker Requests Security Detail

AKP Burdur Deputy Adem Korkmaz alleged that he was threatened by his province's governor, Tülay Baydar Bilgihan, and applied to the Ankara Governorate on September 10 for protective police citing 'explicit threat' and 'life-threatening danger'.

The dispute stemmed from water meter replacements in villages in Burdur. Korkmaz claimed that the Governorate directed citizens to a specific company for the meter replacement and requested 65,000 lira for the work; when he opposed this, he alleged Governor Bilgihan said 'If I'm removed from office, I'll take him down too.' Korkmaz stated that when he went directly to the governor to demand an explanation, Bilgihan confirmed his words: "Instead of telling me to take it lightly, he said 'Yes, that's correct' and repeated the same statement."

Korkmaz also escalated the matter to the Interior Ministry; however, he noted that no solution came from the ministry. Speaking to Sözcü Newspaper, the deputy said, "I'm not someone who fears death, I would not have wanted to bring such a matter into the public."

Open conflict between a provincial governor and a ruling-party lawmaker from that same province is extremely rare in Turkey; although governors are appointed and lawmakers are elected, both are effectively tied to the same government bloc. The fact that the Interior Ministry has taken no action to date suggests the incident has political dimensions alongside its bureaucratic aspects.