Ankara mayor calls rivals to a showdown

Hurriyet Daily News with wires

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Ankara Mayor Melih Gökçek, who was confirmed last week as the ruling Justice and Development Party, or AKP, candidate for the local elections in late March, will contest his fourth straight term in office.

Republican People’s Party, or CHP, candidate for Ankara mayor, Murat Karayalçın, is seen as the incumbent’s most likely challenger for March 29.

According to Hürriyet daily’s report, Gökçek proposed he and Karayalçın discuss the main issues affecting the capital live on 10 channels chosen by the two parties.

He suggested the two teams could meet and decide which issues, such as natural gas, water or the metro, could be debated live on TV.

Karayalçın, a former Ankara mayor himself, has yet to respond to Gökçek’s offer.

Opposition successful
Last month, Gökçek faced off against Republican People’s Party, or CHP’s parliamentary group deputy leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu live on TV to respond to corruption claims.

The media and the CHP promoted the debate as a success for Kılıçdaroğlu, because it was dominated by Gökçek’s aggressive stance.

The moderator, Uğur Dündar, later said he would never again host a debate in which Gökçek was one of the participants.