Turkish PM unveils 10 candidates for local elections, Gökçek to run for fifth term

ANKARA

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has announced candidates for the ruling Justice and Development Party in the upcoming local elections. DAILY NEWS photo, Selahattin SÖNMEZ

Melih Gökçek will run for the Ankara mayor’s office for a fifth successive term, as Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan announced the Justice and Development Party’s local election candidates for 10 provinces.

Gökçek, who has been running the Turkish capital city’s municipality since 1994, will run in the March 30, 2014, local elections.

Erdoğan announced 10 of the party’s 81 provincial candidates, five of them running in metropolitan municipalities, at the end of his weekly Parliamentary group address.

“We did more meticulous work than ever to name our candidates,” said Erdoğan.

The AKP will try to dethrone Eskişehir’s three-time incumbent mayor, Yılmaz Büyükerşen of the Republican People’s Party (CHP), with its candidate, Harun Karacan.

Four-time Mayor Mehmet Özhaseki will try to extend his term in the Central Anatolian province of Kayseri.

Tahir Akyürek, who has administered Konya Metropolitan Municipality for two terms, will also run in the next elections.

Fatih Mehmet Erkoç will run for the seat in Kahramanmaraş, which will become one of Turkey’s newest metropolitan municipalities next year.

Ercan Çimen will run for the AKP in the northern province of Gümüşhane, Seyfettin Kalay will look to win the western Black Sea province of Bartın, Yaşar Bahçeci will be the candidate in the Central Anatolian province of Kırşehir. Elsewhere, Mayor Cafer Özdemir will try to keep his post in the northern province of Amasya, as will Mayor Burhanettin Çoban in the inner Aegean province of province of Afyon.