The ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) will start its campaign for the March 2019 local elections on Feb. 15, the party's deputy chairman announced yesterday.
In a televised interview, Mahir Ünal said that the campaign would be based mostly on social media, adding that although the motto of the campaign is also already decided, it will be revealed later.
"Still, till we announce our new slogan, we will use the motto 'People first, homeland first,'" Ünal said.
Regarding the People's Alliance, Ünal indicated that there could be reciprocal compromises from both sides in the local elections.
The People's Alliance between the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) and the AK Party was formed ahead of the June 24 presidential and parliamentary elections. The alliance has a majority in Parliament, while their presidential candidate, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, won the election with 52.6 percent of the votes. As the last elections proved the alliance's success, the AK Party and the MHP are looking to carry this momentum forward in the local elections.
Ünal also appreciated MHP Chairman Devlet Bahçeli's stance during this process, emphasizing that he has always been consistent in his policies for the sake of the alliance.
Meanwhile, media outlets reported yesterday that the People's Alliance would also apply to the election of city councilors. According to Türkiye daily, in provinces like Istanbul, Ankara and İzmir where the MHP will not nominate a candidate, the party expects to cooperate with the AK Party in determining city councilors. Although the MHP chairman initially stressed that the party will field candidates in all voting districts under its own name and emblem, he later announced that in Istanbul, İzmir and Ankara, the party would not nominate a candidate for mayor. Moreover, in provinces where the two parties cooperate, if the mayor is from one of these parties, the deputy mayor will be from the other party. For instance, if the mayor is from the AK Party, his or her deputy will be selected from the MHP.