AKP seems to be the most prepared and professional party in the election campaign. This is not new. AKP candidates might rely on government power as opposition claims and this claim is probably true like in all previous cases. However, in any case, AKP seems to be better equipped in professional campaigning.
AKP has a somewhat unexpected rival! SP (Felicity Part, religious conservative party that happens to be the one that many AKP leaders hadlearnt politics) is campaigning hard and I believe SP will divert some percentage of AKP votes…
MHP can also divert some of the AKP votes. I am expecting a slight rise.
CHP does not obsessively focus on secularism this time and I belive this is a winning strategy. I don’t expect CHP to increase its votes much, but at least the new focus on government corruption diverts alliance with AKP. AKP always benefitted from CHP secularism strategy. That solidified its ranks and many MHP and SP followers prefered to vote for AKP against CHP challenge.
DTP does not have any strategy except tension-making to solidify its already existing follower-cadres. DTP may preserve its voting base in Kurdish areas and but may lose a little bit to AKP.
Economic issues are weakening AKP. I don’t see any opposition party that can really challenge AKP but AKP is challenging itself and weakening…
I believe AKP may still reach 40 % of votes. But there is a nearly one month to go. There might be many changes…
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here is a roundup:
No to EU, out of NATO, death to imperialism
ISTANBUL – With a back drop of Islamic rap meets Ottoman martial music, the Saadet, or Felicity Party, promised to end corruption, defeat Western Imperialism and cancel the country’s NATO membership."
Birdal: Voting for CHP candidates means approval of Article 301
Akın Birdal, candidate for mayor of İstanbul from the pro-Kurdish Democratic Society Party (DTP), stated that voting in the approaching March 29 local elections for candidates from the Republican People’s Party (CHP), the main opposition party, would symbolize or manifest approval of the "discriminatory and militarist" policies of the CHP.
Kılıçdaroğlu pledges to serve all İstanbulites, not only CHP
Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, who has been nominated by the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) as a mayoral candidate for İstanbul, defines himself as a "believer." The 60-year-old Tunceli native says, "I am a descendant of an Alevi dede, though I do not preach as a dede."
Will the Constitutional Court try the CHP, too?
We are a forgetful nation. Until very recently we had been discussing a closure case in the Constitutional Court. The public’s collective conscience couldn’t accept this case, brought against a party that had 47 percent popular support, nor could it explain this twisted situation to the world.
Will the CHP be the only loser in the local elections?
The local elections slated for March 29 are no longer just about electing mayors. Not only the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party), but also the opposition parties have, justifiably, been ascribing meaning to them far beyond ordinary elections.
Battleground Diyarbakır, and then…
Yet another reminder of how complicated things can be: By shifting from Turkish to Kurdish in his address to deputies of the pro-Kurdish Democratic Society Party (DTP), party Chairman Ahmet Türk entered territory in which most of the issues surrounding the use of one’s mother tongue remain unsettled.
The micro-macro paradox
Local elections in Turkey are taking place with a level of tension akin to that of general elections. Macro issues such as the Ergenekon trial and the Justice and Development Party (AK Party) closure trial have caused the "service" dimension of the local elections to fade away.
Local elections seem to be a turning point in Turkish politics
Turkey is nearing the March 29 local elections in an atmosphere reminiscent of general elections, considering the importance and meaning political parties have attached to these elections.
CHP focus on Lighthouse
ANKARA – The main opposition Republican People’s Party, or CHP, has prepared 10 questions about alleged links of the ruling Justice and Development Party, or AKP, to the Lighthouse e.V. embezzlement case in Germany. The CHP will submit the questions to the Ankara Prosecutor’s Office, to be conveyed to German authorities, parliamentary group leader Hakkı Süha Okay announced yesterday.
Relief defended by ’objective criteria’
ANKARA – Distribution of white goods and other aid to the poor has nothing to do with looming local elections but is only part of a long-term policy to help the needy, the government’s No. 2 leader claimed in an interview.
DTP is fueling the fire of the ‘strict supporters’
The Democratic Society Party (DTP) has once again acted in a way that pleases the status quo of this nation. The DTP’s co-president, Ahmet Türk, sent a message straight to the nerve endings of the state by delivering part of his speech before a DTP parliamentary group in Kurdish.
Scarf shock for CHP
As Turkey heads toward the March 29 local elections, one of the biggest questions awaiting an answer is whether the actions of the Republican People’s Party (CHP) regarding headscarves, Quran courses and the European Union accession process will translate into votes.
Local elections, a referendum on democracy and reforms
On the 29th day of this month Turkey will hold its 13th local elections since its transition to multi-party rule in 1946. This is meant to elect the leaders of 2,941 municipalities throughout the country, but the campaign is, as usual, being conducted in the nature of a general election.
Who will win the local party branch wars?
The upcoming local election race will reveal the importance of the leaders, candidates and their projects as well as the local party branches.
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