AKP officially launches election campaign with candidate presentation

ANKARA

DHA photo

Turkey’s Justice and Development Party (AKP), which failed to form a single-party government in the June 7 election for the first time after winning three consecutive elections since November 2002, has presented its candidates for the Nov. 1 snap elections with a mass gathering in Ankara.

“In three months, we have encountered a lot of obstacles. As of the morning of June 8, a ‘bloc’ debate was launched. They said that ‘The anti-AK Parti bloc seized majority at parliament and AK Parti’s years in power ended.’ The 258 brave men stood tall in the face of these blocs,” Davutoğlu said, addressing the gathering on Sept. 21 while referring to the 258 seats his party won in the June 7 elections.

The AKP leader began his speech by saying “Let’s Bismillah (“In the name of God, the most Gracious and Compassionate”) which was also the name of a campaign song played at the gathering for the first time.

Although the song was already ready, it was not played at the AKP congress on Sept. 12 due to respect for scores of soldiers and police officers killed in the fight against militants of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK).

Davutoğlu called on the audience to stand up and applaud the 258 “brave men,” offering gratitude to them. 

“Those who assumed that Turkey would descend into chaos and crisis because we couldn’t come to power on our own despite having gained 258 deputies have seen that the backbone of politics in Turkey is the AK Parti.

Politics cannot be shaped and designed without the AK Parti,” he said.

“While congratulating our 258 deputies one by one, I also call on those of my brothers who have been among those 258 deputies of ours but who are not among the candidates [for the Nov. 1 vote]. Let no one think that they weren’t nominated because of their mistakes. Each of them fulfilled their duties with honor,” he added.

When compared to the AKP’s candidate list for the 550-seated parliament in the June 7 election, only 312 of those who were nominated on June 7 were nominated again for the Nov. 1 snap elections. Meanwhile, the AKP, which nominated 99 women in the June 7 vote, this time nominated 69 women.