Lost in 2019… Erdogan’s party raises the slogan “Istanbul is ours” in municipal elections
After facing an unprecedented setback during the 2019 municipal elections, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan revealed the preparations of the Justice and Development Party for the upcoming municipal elections, affirming the party’s desire to win the municipality of Istanbul at any cost.
Erdogan explained during a speech to the ruling Justice and Development Party bloc in parliament that Istanbul holds special importance for the party and its voters, motivating the party to prepare a more cautious electoral campaign for the city. He added that the party is planning its campaigns for local elections according to its priorities, stating, “The process of submitting candidacy applications for municipal presidencies has ended, and we have conducted electronic trend monitoring. Our meetings with our ally within the People’s Alliance, the Nationalist Movement Party, are progressing,” according to the Turkish newspaper Zaman.
Erdogan addressed the youth, saying, “We do not view our competitors as opponents but as entities that can be controlled. Today, I am raising the slogan ‘Istanbul is Ours’ once again.”
It is worth noting that the Republican People’s Party succeeded in winning major municipalities in the last elections. Despite the rerun of the elections in Istanbul, alleging manipulation, Ekrem İmamoğlu won the position of the mayor of Istanbul, demonstrating unprecedented success in Turkey’s electoral history by repeatedly winning elections.
Despite Erdogan‘s victory in the recent presidential elections with a significant margin over Ekrem İmamoğlu in both rounds, the latter slightly surpassed him in many major cities, including Istanbul and Ankara.
Observers, according to Turkish media, believe that there are two main reasons for this outcome: the clear impact of the deteriorating economic conditions on urban residents compared to rural areas, and the influence of the alliance system that supported the opposition candidate. Therefore, the stability or change in either of these indicators or both will significantly determine the municipal election results.
Nevertheless, it will remain a significant challenge and a difficult task for the Justice and Development Party, given that some segments of voters tend to express their protest vote more clearly in local elections compared to presidential and legislative elections.
The local elections are expected to be held on March 31, and the Justice and Development Party seeks to reclaim Istanbul and Ankara, which it lost for the first time in its history during the 2019 elections, marking a shocking loss for the party and its supporters.
