Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan wants to regain the most important Turkish cities from the Republican People's Party during the upcoming local elections (Anadolu Agency)

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced yesterday, Thursday, that Turgut Altinok will represent the Justice and Development Party in the local elections expected on March 31, in an attempt to regain the capital after the opposition seized it in the 2019 elections.

Turgut Altinok is considered one of the prominent political figures in Turkey, as he began his career as a lawyer, and then entered the world of politics when he assumed the presidency of the Nationalist Movement Party in the Kecioren region.

He held important positions within the ranks of his party, as he was Deputy Secretary-General of the Nationalist Movement after the military coup in 1980.

His political career went through several transformations, as he moved to the Harki Party, and then to the Justice and Development Party.

Altinok won 4 consecutive presidential terms in Kechiorin Municipality.

The representative of the Justice and Development Party (led by Erdogan) will face the current mayor, Mansur Yavaş, who belongs to the Republican People's Party, one of the largest opposition parties.

It is noteworthy that Altinok and Yavaş have a common history, as they belonged to the far-right Nationalist Movement Party in the past before each of them adopted a different political direction.

Erdogan wants to reclaim the most important Turkish cities from the Republican People's Party, which achieved a major victory in Istanbul and Ankara in the 2019 elections.

Earlier this month, Erdogan chose a new candidate for mayor of Istanbul, Murat Kurum, who previously served as Minister of Environment.

Corum will face the city's current mayor, Akbar Imamoglu of the Republican People's Party.

Most analysts believe that Erdogan and his party's chances of winning are greater in Istanbul than in Ankara, and this comes according to opinion polls that rank the current mayor of the capital among the most popular politicians in Turkey.

Imamoglu must ensure that he re-wins the Istanbul municipality to maintain his chances in the upcoming presidential elections, in which he intends to participate after the end of Erdogan’s presidency in 2028.

Source: French