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Presidential Chief Adviser Oktay Saral confirms he left his post
Presidential Chief Adviser Oktay Saral said he left his post at the direction of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. Asked whether his departure was linked to his remarks about headscarf practices in Azerbaijan, Saral replied, "Yes, it appears so."
Presidential Chief Adviser Oktay Saral confirmed that he had left his post. When journalist Talat Atilla reached him by phone, Saral replied to a question about whether he had been dismissed, "Yes. We are not defined by our positions. Mr. President appointed me, and I left at his direction."
Saral said, "I have no resentment toward anyone," and added, "What matters is the Republic of Türkiye. What matters is the success of our President."
Asked whether his departure was caused by his remarks about Azerbaijan, Saral replied, "Yes, it appears so."
The headscarf debate in Azerbaijan
In a statement made in mid-October, Saral said, "It is unacceptable to prevent students wearing headscarves in Azerbaijan from exercising their right to education! A headscarf is not an obstacle; it is a requirement of faith! The right to education cannot be sacrificed to any ideological imposition! We expect Azerbaijan to reverse this mistake as soon as possible."
Azerbaijan's ruling New Azerbaijan Party (YAP), in a statement on October 13, condemned Saral's position and that of AK Party politicians who had criticized the issue, arguing that senior public officials in Türkiye should respect Azerbaijan's sovereignty and internal affairs.
Middle East Eye alleged on October 20 that the Azerbaijani government had asked Ankara to dismiss Saral. Neither Türkiye nor Azerbaijan issued an official statement on the matter.
Who is Oktay Saral?
Born in Trabzon's Of district in 1967, Saral graduated from the Civil Engineering Department of Karadeniz Technical University. He was elected mayor of Of in the 2004 and 2009 local elections and served as an AK Party member of parliament for Istanbul from 2011 to 2015. Saral was later appointed as a chief adviser to the president.
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