With almost two months left for the general elections, the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) prepares for the critical race with the earthquake tragedy dominating the agenda.
The party will conduct a calmer campaign without the ubiquitous songs staple of every movement and visits to earthquake-hit provinces. The AK Party’s deputy chairperson in charge of electoral affairs held a press conference in the capital Ankara on Monday on their work. Ali Ihsan Yavuz said every candidate for parliamentary seats was now required to donate at least TL 5,000 to a relief campaign for earthquake survivors instead of paying the candidacy fee to the party.
The AK Party, in the meantime, continues holding talks with other parties to further empower its People’s Alliance. The Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) and Great Union Party (BBP) already pledged allegiance to the alliance, while Yavuz said talks were underway with other parties. He pointed out a scheduled meeting with officials from Free Cause Party (HÜDA-PAR) later on Monday, and there was “a process” involving the New Welfare Party (Yeniden Refah Partisi). “We sped things up after President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan signed the election decree. Even seconds matter now,” Yavuz said.
Erdoğan, as a candidate of the People’s Alliance, will face Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu of the six-party opposition alliance. Though others announced their candidacy or were nominated for the post, like Muharrem Ince, Erdoğan’s leading contender in the 2018 elections, the race is expected to be, more or less, between Erdoğan and Kılıçdaroğlu.
The president met BBP leader Mustafa Destici on Monday. Speaking to reporters after the meeting in the capital Ankara, Destici said his party supported the People’s Alliance both in the 2017 referendum and in the 2018 presidential elections. “We continue as a member of the alliance for this election, too,” he said. He added that their members, on the other hand, will most likely compete for parliamentary seats “under the BBP logo and name.”
