Turkish President Erdoğan names ruling party's mayor nominee

TRABZON

Turkish president has announced the name of mayoral candidate for Black Sea province of Trabzon, as the countdown for the country’s local elections began.

Speaking at the Justice and Development Party (AKP) presentation of mayoral candidates for Trabzon, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, who is also chairman of the AKP, named Murat Zorluoğlu as a mayoral candidate for the province.

Erdoğan also announced the party’s nominations for the district mayors in the province.

During his speech, Erdoğan stressed that they have been fighting to make Turkey meet its dreams and goals.

AKP and Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) are expected to support each other’s candidates in some districts and provinces, while the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) and the Good (IYI) Party are expected to make same arrangement.

AKP has nominated Mehmet Özhaseki, its deputy chairman and a former environment and urbanization minister, for mayor of capital Ankara in the upcoming election.

Meanwhile, Binali Yıldırım, current parliament speaker and former prime minister, will run for mayor of Istanbul for AKP.

CHP has nominated Ekrem İmamoğlu for mayor of Istanbul and Mansur Yavaş for Ankara mayor.

Turkish local polls are held every five years to elect mayors of 30 metropolitan municipalities and 51 provincial municipalities.

Along with metropolitan, provincial and district mayors, voters will also elect municipal council members in cities and -- in rural areas -- mukhtars and members of elder councils.

The last local elections were held on March 30, 2014, which saw AKP clinch more than 45.5 percent of the vote.