CHP vows victory in Istanbul, Ankara municipal elections

ANKARA

The main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) will win a landslide victory in the capital Ankara and Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality in the upcoming local elections, party leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu has vowed.

“We will win Ankara, Istanbul, [northwestern province of] Bursa, [southern provinces of] Adana and Mersin. We know that the CHP will win these municipalities. Hopefully İYİ [Good] Party [CHP’s ally] will win [Aegean province of] Manisa and [western province of] Balıkesir,” Kılıçdaroğlu said in an interview on Turkish broadcaster Habertürk on March 25.

“We will convey the importance of production in local administrations of Turkey to large masses. The citizens have seen the kind of services we provided in other municipalities. They come to [Istanbul’s districts of] Kadıköy, Maltepe, Kartal and Sarıyer for a breath of fresh air,” he added.

The party leader also claimed that the voters of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) will vote for the CHP in the March 31 elections, basing his certainty on talks he held with many citizens who are disgruntled by financial troubles they blame on the AKP.

“I am coming across hundreds of citizens who have voted AKP in the past and say they will vote for us from now on. It is not possible that someone living in a palace can relate to the public’s problems,” he said, referring to President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.

“How can someone who has never experienced poverty or unemployment in his life understand these problems? There are huge gaps between their lives and the public’s life. It is our duty to close these gaps, he added.

Kılıçdaroğlu said these elections are different to previous ones because the public is overtly facing Turkey’s financial troubles.

“We are absolutely assertive. There is a different atmosphere. Citizens are seeing that financial troubles have even taken its toll on their kitchens. Families receive a crucial blow when their life standards decline,” he said.

“If you go grocery shopping and are paying 200 liras minimum for a few items you would’ve normally paid 100 liras for previously, then there is a problem,” he stressed.

Kılıçdaroğlu also refuted allegations that he would call for early elections after this weekend’s polls and said the rumors were “fabricated.”

“We will, God willing, win these municipalities and our mayors will perform their duties. Asking for elections before seeing the success of mayors is opportunism,” he said.

“This nation is tired of elections. There’s almost one election every year. Enough is enough. Society needs to have some chance to evaluate the ones they elected recently,” he added.