1,200 applications received for AK Party nomination
Application for the presumptive nominations from the Justice and Development Party (AK Party) ended on Thursday, Sept. 3. Presumptive nominees aspiring to be AK Party deputies delivered their applications to the party headquarters or to the provincial party bases. The application fee for male candidates is TL 5,000 ($1,681) and TL 2,500 for female candidates. Disabled candidates are exempt from the fee.
Repotedly, the majority of the applications came from the same candidates who applied for the June 7 elections but were declined by the party high committee and who could not make it onto the lists during 2011 elections. The AK Party has a vast repository of candidate profiles established during the last two elections. Some of these figures had successfully passed the committee and interview, but were unable to secure a place on the final candidate list. During the creation of the new list for the upcoming parliamentary elections, it is anticipated that these candidates are to be given priority.
However, sources said that there might be radical changes to the provincial lists of the eastern and southeastern Anatolia regions. They say that the decrease in AK Party votes in these regions in the June 7 elections were caused by the candidate list as well as by the AK Party's political discourse. The AK Party observed a 6 percent decrease in its votes in eastern Anatolia and a 14.5 percent decrease in its votes in southeastern Anatolia. Therefore, some claimed that the candidates of these regions will be heavily scrutinized before securing a place on the final list. Similarly, some of the candidates who were either criticized or opposed by the provincial party bases are expected to be changed. They say there were problems due to the nomination of some candidates who were unknown to the provincial organizations so for the upcoming elections the provincial organizations will allow only the candidates who are well known to them.
The AK Party had received 6,223 applications before the June 7 elections, but for the Nov. 1 elections only 1,200 applications have been received. Expectations of little to no changes on the list and the intense campaign period caused the significant drop in applications. On the other hand, as the lists have to be delivered to the Supreme Election Board (YSK) by Sept. 18, the subcommittees will hastily evaluate the candidates instead of the regular procedure of interviews and tendency surveys. The final decision regarding the candidate lists will be made by the party high committee, which will be chaired by interim PM Davutoğlu.
Repotedly, the majority of the applications came from the same candidates who applied for the June 7 elections but were declined by the party high committee and who could not make it onto the lists during 2011 elections. The AK Party has a vast repository of candidate profiles established during the last two elections. Some of these figures had successfully passed the committee and interview, but were unable to secure a place on the final candidate list. During the creation of the new list for the upcoming parliamentary elections, it is anticipated that these candidates are to be given priority.
However, sources said that there might be radical changes to the provincial lists of the eastern and southeastern Anatolia regions. They say that the decrease in AK Party votes in these regions in the June 7 elections were caused by the candidate list as well as by the AK Party's political discourse. The AK Party observed a 6 percent decrease in its votes in eastern Anatolia and a 14.5 percent decrease in its votes in southeastern Anatolia. Therefore, some claimed that the candidates of these regions will be heavily scrutinized before securing a place on the final list. Similarly, some of the candidates who were either criticized or opposed by the provincial party bases are expected to be changed. They say there were problems due to the nomination of some candidates who were unknown to the provincial organizations so for the upcoming elections the provincial organizations will allow only the candidates who are well known to them.
The AK Party had received 6,223 applications before the June 7 elections, but for the Nov. 1 elections only 1,200 applications have been received. Expectations of little to no changes on the list and the intense campaign period caused the significant drop in applications. On the other hand, as the lists have to be delivered to the Supreme Election Board (YSK) by Sept. 18, the subcommittees will hastily evaluate the candidates instead of the regular procedure of interviews and tendency surveys. The final decision regarding the candidate lists will be made by the party high committee, which will be chaired by interim PM Davutoğlu.
Last Update: September 03, 2015 21:16