Election watchdog greenlights 36 parties for March's local polls

ANKARA

Supreme Election Council (YSK) head Ahmet Yener has declared that 36 political parties have been granted approval to participate in the upcoming local elections scheduled for March 31.

Yener made the announcement on Jan. 2 during a brief press conference following an hour-long YSK meeting at the headquarters convened to scrutinize the parties' eligibility of participating as the election calendar officially commenced the day before.

The list of eligible parties for the upcoming elections includes newcomers Anatolian Unity Party (ABP) and Bright Democracy Party (ADP), contrasting with last May's twin parliamentary and presidential elections.

Notably, the Party for Change in Türkiye (TDP), previously led by current main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) lawmaker Mustafa Sarıgül, merged with the CHP in June, and will not be participating in the upcoming polls.

The Greens and Left Future Party (YSP), meanwhile, will be partaking in this election under its new name, the Peoples' Equality and Democracy Party (DEM).

However, the DEM Party's precursor, the Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP), is at risk of closure due to alleged links to the PKK and will not be participating in the upcoming elections. In the last parliamentary elections, the pro-Kurdish HDP strategically nominated its candidates on the lists of YSP, garnering nearly 5 million votes.

Political parties have until Jan. 31 to submit their candidate lists, and on Feb. 20, final lists for mayors, municipal council memberships and provincial general assembly memberships will be organized by the parties' district presidencies. March 3 will mark the YSK's announcement of the final candidate lists.

As the date approaches, March 21 will signal the commencement of election propaganda and prohibitions, culminating in the final push to March 30.

Local reports say Justice and Development Party (AKP)-led ruling alliance is expected to collaborate once again, with President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's party not fielding candidates in seven provinces, instead supporting its partner Nationalist Movement Party's (MHP) hopefuls.

The provinces in focus – Manisa, Mersin, Erzincan, Bartın, Kars, Kırklareli and Osmaniye – echo the strategic alliance in the 2019 elections.

The AKP, on the other hand, will garner support from MHP in key battlegrounds such as Istanbul and the capital Ankara. In 22 provinces, People's Alliance partners will independently contest the elections, presenting their own candidates.

Meanwhile in a shift from their successful joint strategy in 2019, the two major opposition parties, the CHP and the İYİ (Good) Party, are adopting different approaches. The former has officially renominated its current mayors in Istanbul and Ankara, Ekrem İmamoğlu and Mansur Yavaş, while the İYİ Party is gearing up to unveil its own candidates in all constituencies.

Beyond the major parties, the 2019 elections saw victories for the Felicity Party (SP) in 21 constituencies, the Great Union Party (BBP) in 10, the Democratic Party (DP) in eight, the Democratic Left Party (DSP) in six and the Communist Party of Türkiye (TKP) in one, while independent candidates secured victories in 13 constituencies.