Erdoğan vows to 'fix İzmir's deficiencies' after polls

İZMİR

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has vowed to "rejuvenate" the traditionally opposition-governed city of İzmir if his ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) secures victory in the upcoming municipal elections.

"İzmir was liberated from the enemy a century ago, but unfortunately, it has not been able to get rid of those who are poor in works and services for a long time," Erdoğan said during a rally in the city on March 10.

Erdoğan accused the incumbent Republican People's Party (CHP) administration in İzmir of failing to deliver adequate development and progress.

"We have the politics of works and service. We want to make up for these lost years of our city together by completing İzmir's investment deficiencies as soon as possible," he said, voicing his pledge to enhance the welfare of the city's residents.

Highlighting the central government's investments in İzmir, Erdoğan cited figures including the construction of over 11,000 classrooms, 115 sports facilities, 129 health facilities and public investment totaling 449 billion Turkish liras.

"We will not leave İzmir to the CHP mentality. We will do it as the central government," he remarked.

The AKP and its ally, the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), have previously announced their candidates for various districts in the city. Serkan Acar in Aliağa, Esat Tanık in Çeşme, Sema Akıncı in Dikili, Taner Acar in Foça and Arif Demirkan in Tire will run under the MHP banner.

Notable nominations for AKP include Hamza Dağ, who has been selected as the candidate for the metropolitan municipality.

The CHP revealed Cemil Tugay, the current mayor of Karşıyaka, as its candidate for the metropolitan municipality.

The AKP's nominees in the western city include Bilal Kırkpınar in Bayraklı, Cevdet Çayır in Bornova, Adnan Öztekin in Buca, İsmail Çiftçioğlu in Karşıyaka and Ceyda Bölünmez Çankırı in Konak, among others.

Other nominations for AKP are Erol Eroğlu in Balçova, Murat Gökçekaya in Çiğli, Deniz Doğan in Gaziemir, Gümüş Saime Bucaklıoğlu in Güzelbahçe, Mehmet Sadık Tunç in Karabağlar, Zeynel Bakıcı in Selçuk and Özgür Erman Çağlar in Torbalı.

Meanwhile, the İYİ (Good) Party and the Peoples' Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party), which refrained from running candidates in many regions during the 2019 elections and played a crucial role in the CHP's victories, have fielded candidates in key battlegrounds this time, including Istanbul, Ankara and İzmir.