Capital needs a fresh face, says mayor hopeful
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by İzgi Güngör
Oluşturulma Tarihi: Mart 02, 2009 00:00
ANKARA - MHP mayoral candidate Mansur Yavaş is promising to leave his political identity behind and bring a more transparent municipal management style to the capital. He believes the capital needs fresh faces to bring real change
The nationalist opposition party’s candidate for mayor of Ankara has said the capital needs new blood and a new management style because past leaders have proven ineffective at solving the city’s problems.
"Ankara residents are weary of the names of former Ankara Mayor Murat Karayalçın and Ankara Mayor Melih Gökçek and their political conflict," Mansur Yavaş, the Nationalist Movement Party, or MHP, candidate for Ankara, told the Hürriyet Daily News & Economic Review in an interview. "They haven’t heard any fresh names for the last 20 years. Ankara needs peace and quality mayoral service."
"If the two candidates had ruled Ankara well," he added, "Ankara wouldn’t have the problems it faces now in terms of drinking water, air pollution and transportation. [Instead] we would be discussing ways to improve Ankara’s vision today." After a successful 10-year term as mayor of Ankara’s Beypazarı district, Yavaş is now the MHP’s Ankara mayoral candidate in the upcoming March local elections. He is running against two strong candidates, Karayalçın of the Republican People’s Party, or CHP, and Gökçek of the ruling Justice and Development Party, or AKP.
When his name first came up as a contender for Ankara mayor, Yavaş’s chances were deemed slim. Although many political observers and surveys still see the race as one between Karayalçın and Gökçek, support for Yavaş has been increasing. The withdrawal of AKP’s Keçiören Mayor Turgut Altınok from the race probably played the biggest role in this. Within the MHP, expectations are that former MHP supporter Altınok’s votes are likely to move to Yavaş. MHP supporters who voted for Gökçek in earlier elections are also expected to support their own candidate in this one.
Yavaş’s leaving aside of political identity both made him a supra-party mayor, who gained many votes from rival political-party supporters, and played a crucial role in his success in Beypazarı, which he turned into a regional center of attraction for both domestic and international tourists. He likewise promises to come up with a new management model to secure a more transparent and participatory municipal understanding in Ankara.
"If elected, I will serve all Ankara residents, irrespective of their political affiliations," Yavaş said. "I put my political identity aside in Beypazarı and I will do the same here. I want votes from Ankara citizens not as an MHP candidate, but as a candidate who has projects and promises for Ankara."
"One of my major projects," Yavaş added, "is that I will bring a new management model that will include two members from the CHP and AKP in the five-member municipality council to achieve a more democratic administration."
In response to critics who say that governing a metropolitan city like Ankara is more challenging than running a smaller district like Beypazarı, Yavaş said the former Ankara mayors also came from different backgrounds before they took office.
No debates
Yavaş estimated he had a 51 percent chance of winning the post, saying that his being a new face and his success in Beypazarı were his greatest advantages in the race. He has refrained from engaging in mayoral debates with the other candidates, saying that he wants to be associated with his projects, not his political identity. If not elected, he said he plans to start practicing law again.
Yavaş’s initiatives vary, but his biggest dream is to convert the capital into a name-brand city, "Turkey’s Paris," that will attract people from all over the world. Criticizing the distribution of aid packages as being both too political and too public, he said he would institutionalize such aid by introducing a citizenship-card system that people who face economic problems would be able to use like a credit card.
"The aspersions and lynching campaign launched against me from the rival parties are a sign of panic and fear of losing," Yavaş said. "Ankara deserves more clean politics." "Ankara inhabitants have experienced the reign of other candidates, which is to their disadvantage," Yavaş said. "I am a breath of fresh air, which is to my advantage. They couldn’t achieve, but at least I have a chance to fulfill my promises!"
"Ankara residents are weary of the names of former Ankara Mayor Murat Karayalçın and Ankara Mayor Melih Gökçek and their political conflict," Mansur Yavaş, the Nationalist Movement Party, or MHP, candidate for Ankara, told the Hürriyet Daily News & Economic Review in an interview. "They haven’t heard any fresh names for the last 20 years. Ankara needs peace and quality mayoral service."
"If the two candidates had ruled Ankara well," he added, "Ankara wouldn’t have the problems it faces now in terms of drinking water, air pollution and transportation. [Instead] we would be discussing ways to improve Ankara’s vision today." After a successful 10-year term as mayor of Ankara’s Beypazarı district, Yavaş is now the MHP’s Ankara mayoral candidate in the upcoming March local elections. He is running against two strong candidates, Karayalçın of the Republican People’s Party, or CHP, and Gökçek of the ruling Justice and Development Party, or AKP.
When his name first came up as a contender for Ankara mayor, Yavaş’s chances were deemed slim. Although many political observers and surveys still see the race as one between Karayalçın and Gökçek, support for Yavaş has been increasing. The withdrawal of AKP’s Keçiören Mayor Turgut Altınok from the race probably played the biggest role in this. Within the MHP, expectations are that former MHP supporter Altınok’s votes are likely to move to Yavaş. MHP supporters who voted for Gökçek in earlier elections are also expected to support their own candidate in this one.
Yavaş’s leaving aside of political identity both made him a supra-party mayor, who gained many votes from rival political-party supporters, and played a crucial role in his success in Beypazarı, which he turned into a regional center of attraction for both domestic and international tourists. He likewise promises to come up with a new management model to secure a more transparent and participatory municipal understanding in Ankara.
"If elected, I will serve all Ankara residents, irrespective of their political affiliations," Yavaş said. "I put my political identity aside in Beypazarı and I will do the same here. I want votes from Ankara citizens not as an MHP candidate, but as a candidate who has projects and promises for Ankara."
"One of my major projects," Yavaş added, "is that I will bring a new management model that will include two members from the CHP and AKP in the five-member municipality council to achieve a more democratic administration."
In response to critics who say that governing a metropolitan city like Ankara is more challenging than running a smaller district like Beypazarı, Yavaş said the former Ankara mayors also came from different backgrounds before they took office.
No debates
Yavaş estimated he had a 51 percent chance of winning the post, saying that his being a new face and his success in Beypazarı were his greatest advantages in the race. He has refrained from engaging in mayoral debates with the other candidates, saying that he wants to be associated with his projects, not his political identity. If not elected, he said he plans to start practicing law again.
Yavaş’s initiatives vary, but his biggest dream is to convert the capital into a name-brand city, "Turkey’s Paris," that will attract people from all over the world. Criticizing the distribution of aid packages as being both too political and too public, he said he would institutionalize such aid by introducing a citizenship-card system that people who face economic problems would be able to use like a credit card.
"The aspersions and lynching campaign launched against me from the rival parties are a sign of panic and fear of losing," Yavaş said. "Ankara deserves more clean politics." "Ankara inhabitants have experienced the reign of other candidates, which is to their disadvantage," Yavaş said. "I am a breath of fresh air, which is to my advantage. They couldn’t achieve, but at least I have a chance to fulfill my promises!"