President Erdoan emphasizes local elections “on the fate of Trkiye”

A few days before the municipal elections, President Recep Tayyip Erdoan was in the northern province of Tokat on Monday. The Turkish leader stressed the importance of the vote, the first test for his People's Alliance since last year's general elections.

“Every conscious person knows that it is not about Erdoan, nor the AK Party, nor the People's Alliance. It is about the fate of Trkiye,” Erdoan told some 45,000 supporters of his party in power, the AK Party. ).

During Erdoan's long tenure as prime minister and president, the veteran politician made his first run-off election after a seemingly close race against opposition candidate Kemal Kldarolu in the election. general elections of 2023. Earlier, the president had indicated that the municipal elections would be his “last” elections, which implies that he will not seek another term in 2028.

The president said some “circles” were disturbed by Trkiye's three-fold growth in 21 years of AKP party governance and the Democracy League's progress in rights and freedoms reforms. “Those who cannot accept the way Trkiye has increased its influence in its region and the world through its moral and righteous stance are waiting to ambush Trkiye. As we aim for more ambitious goals throughout the “century of Trkiye” (vision), some people are waiting “Some Western statesmen personally conveyed this fact to me during our talks,” Erdoan said.

He said the AKP and People's Alliance governments repelled “all attacks” with the support of the nation and the will of God and foiled the plots.

Erdoan, buoyed by his good results in last year's general elections, aims to reconquer Istanbul, Trkiye's most populous city. In Tokat, he asked voters to “phone” their relatives in Istanbul, home to more than 450,000 people who emigrated from Tokat, to convince them to vote for the AKP party candidate.

The main opposition, the Republican People's Party (CHP), regained control of the city, Trkiye's economic powerhouse, in 2019 for the first time since before Erdoan became mayor in the 1990s. The decisive events of 2019 also saw the opposition recapture the capital, Ankara, and retain power in the crucial Aegean port city, Izmir.

Erdoan has instructed his former environment minister, Murat Kurum, to run for Istanbul mayor in the upcoming elections.

The powerful president rebounded last year to win a tough presidential election that took place amid a massive earthquake that claimed more than 53,000 lives in Trkiye.

Today, Erdoan aims to reconquer Istanbul, the city where he grew up and where he launched his political career as mayor in 1994.

Incumbent CHP Mayor Ekrem Imamolu edged out an Erdoan ally in a 2019 election that made international headlines for its controversial cancellation. He won another vote by a wide margin, making him an instant hero for the opposition.

The 52-year-old is widely seen as the opposition's best bet to win back the AKP presidency in 2028.

“Imamolu is an effective political operator and currently represents one of the few rays of hope for voters who oppose Erdoan and the AKP party,” Anthony Skinner, director of research at geopolitical consultancy Marlow Global. Press (AFP).

But poor results in last year's general elections fractured the opposition and prompted the pro-PKK Green Left Party (YSP), informally known as the People's Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party), successor to the Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP), the third largest in Parliament, to present its own candidates in the municipal elections. This could cost the opposition dearly.

“The political opposition's underperformance in the May 2023 elections demonstrated its inability to effectively challenge the political status quo and, by extension, Erdoan's resilience and ingenuity,” Skinner said.

In 2019, Imamolu received support from a wide range of political parties, including the right-wing Good Party (IP). But the lack of unity this time will likely cost Imamolu several percentage points.

“We will open the door to a new era on March 31,” Erdoan said Sunday at a large rally in Istanbul, hoping to unite supporters behind Kurum. “We will work hard and win back Istanbul.”

Berk Esen, associate professor at Istanbul's Sabanc University, described Istanbul as “the biggest prize in Turkish politics.”

He said winning back the city was extremely important for Erdoan, 70, who has declared these March local elections would be his last.

“Obviously, it’s his town,” Esen said. “But it goes further.”

“Istanbul is a city with enormous municipal resources that provides services to 16 million citizens,” he said.

Opinion polls suggest it will be a close affair.

But Erman Bakrc, of polling firm Konda, insisted Imamoglu was “ahead” in Istanbul and suggested there could be “a gap between (opinion) polls and actual results elections.” Osman Nuri Kabaktepe, head of the Istanbul branch of the AKP party, told AFP that Istanbul was crucial because it is “our gateway to the world”, comparing it to the importance of New York and Berlin .

In the capital Ankara, CHP mayor Mansur Yava appears to be leading in the polls. But “a very close race” could be at play, said political communications expert Eren Aksoyolu, adding that the AKP's nationalist allies were “putting all their weight into the battle.”

Erdoan said on Monday that Trkiye would celebrate the “National Will Day” on March 31.

“What has worried me the most over the past 30 years is the state of the opposition in our country. Unfortunately, in Trkiye there is no opposition ready to govern nor any opposition that would inspect what the government does. We have always opposed a trusteeship system and against coup attempts. The CHP mentality took the side of the putschists and did nothing else. We “So we have to work on our own to learn from our mistakes. Today's opposition is disappointing. They are fighting so hard, they barely have time to check the developments in the world,” Erdoan said.

The president said this would be the 18th election for him and his party, and they have all emerged victorious in all these elections.

“God willing, we will see the end of this opposition mentality,” he said.