Familiarity factor a key for votes in ’the village’
Güncelleme Tarihi:
by Chris Drum Berkaya
Oluşturulma Tarihi: Mart 19, 2009 00:00
Bodrum may be known to Turkey as a national and international tourism resort, but when it comes to politics, it is entirely a village where only local names and allegiances work. This is how candidates and their teams are chosen for the forthcoming local elections in the popular district in Muğla, in order to maximize the networks of interests
Three government ministers visiting Bodrum in the space of one week can only mean one thing: It is local elections time, and the prizes are the control of no less than 11 municipalities within the district boundaries.
In political leanings, the peninsula of Bodrum is almost as isolated as it is in geography, long held by political parties that no longer hold sway in the national corridors of power. Being far away from the center though has always fed the independent streak in Bodrum, back to the days of King Mausolos, a celebrated leader who reigned between 377 and 353 BC, and is often mentioned these days in the speeches.
The two major parties, the ruling Justice and Development Party, or AKP, and the opposition Republican People’s Party, or CHP, have selected candidates for all 11 mayoral positions, and teams for the councils and province. The CHP is backing their current mayors in Bodrum, Yalıkavak and Gümüşlük. The other opposition party with national parliamentary seats, the Nationalist Movement Party, or MHP, has mayors running again in Konacık and Gündoğan, while Motherland Party, or ANAP, mayors are running for Turgutreis, Göltürkbükü and Yalıçiftlik. The AKP has held the outer village of rural Mumcular. The seaside village of Bitez has an open field of unproven candidates, as the last elected mayor from ANAP was forced to step down by a court decision last year. Ortakent also has all new candidates as the current mayor of 10 years, Mehmet Kocadon, has decided to run instead for the post of Bodrum mayor as the DP candidate.
Closely watched
The main campaigns in Bodrum have become the closely watched contest between the younger Kocadon who presents himself as the dynamic wind of change, and Mazlum Ağan, the CHP mayor completing his first full term. Ağan is campaigning on a list of promised projects delivered and more planned, with a "work in progress" theme. At the moment, Kocadon, a hotel and property owner in Ortakent, and Ağan seem to have equal support. The AKP candidate, the young Emre Saraçbaşı, is the third candidate, and campaigning on the theme of "a new Golden Era for Bodrum."
Both locally born and likable men, Ağan and Kocadon have left no hand unshaken in their pursuit of votes, but it is feared that the two campaigns are effectively splitting the vote. Both candidates have even met with a small group of international residents to hear their views.
Bodrum may be known to Turkey as a national and international resort, but when it comes to politics, it is entirely a village where only local names and allegiances work. The candidates and their teams seem to be carefully chosen to maximize the networks of interests, to the extent that the same family names appear on each party’s lists. One wonders how they will manage to sit down together at the next wedding celebration.
The main question for all of the voters in all villages is not change, but what is actually achievable, and most of the promises resting on new infrastructure, are subject to "The Plan." That is the scheme for the whole of the peninsula, and the final version issued by the national government last year included alarming provisions such as allowing five-story buildings.
The new residents and largely nonvoting international population are onlookers. One interested non-voter resident in Turgutreis, who declined to be named "for fear of being targeted by the local authorities," said the campaigns in town probably have no time for the foreigners, as they are chasing the local "foreign" vote, that of the many settlers in Turgutreis who have come from the east of Turkey.
Positive aspect
In Yalıkavak where the highest number of foreign residents and home ownership is believed to be, the "foreigners" have not been singled out as an interest group, in contrast to neighboring Gümüşlük, when a surprising 100 residents turned out to an invitation to discuss issues with the Democratic Party, or DP, candidate, a rare mayoral hopefuls on the peninsula to speak fluent English.
If there is a positive aspect of the abundance of municipalities, it is that more people are involved at the grassroots level of the campaigns, where the belief is strong that participation is the key to local government of the future.
In political leanings, the peninsula of Bodrum is almost as isolated as it is in geography, long held by political parties that no longer hold sway in the national corridors of power. Being far away from the center though has always fed the independent streak in Bodrum, back to the days of King Mausolos, a celebrated leader who reigned between 377 and 353 BC, and is often mentioned these days in the speeches.
The two major parties, the ruling Justice and Development Party, or AKP, and the opposition Republican People’s Party, or CHP, have selected candidates for all 11 mayoral positions, and teams for the councils and province. The CHP is backing their current mayors in Bodrum, Yalıkavak and Gümüşlük. The other opposition party with national parliamentary seats, the Nationalist Movement Party, or MHP, has mayors running again in Konacık and Gündoğan, while Motherland Party, or ANAP, mayors are running for Turgutreis, Göltürkbükü and Yalıçiftlik. The AKP has held the outer village of rural Mumcular. The seaside village of Bitez has an open field of unproven candidates, as the last elected mayor from ANAP was forced to step down by a court decision last year. Ortakent also has all new candidates as the current mayor of 10 years, Mehmet Kocadon, has decided to run instead for the post of Bodrum mayor as the DP candidate.
Closely watched
The main campaigns in Bodrum have become the closely watched contest between the younger Kocadon who presents himself as the dynamic wind of change, and Mazlum Ağan, the CHP mayor completing his first full term. Ağan is campaigning on a list of promised projects delivered and more planned, with a "work in progress" theme. At the moment, Kocadon, a hotel and property owner in Ortakent, and Ağan seem to have equal support. The AKP candidate, the young Emre Saraçbaşı, is the third candidate, and campaigning on the theme of "a new Golden Era for Bodrum."
Both locally born and likable men, Ağan and Kocadon have left no hand unshaken in their pursuit of votes, but it is feared that the two campaigns are effectively splitting the vote. Both candidates have even met with a small group of international residents to hear their views.
Bodrum may be known to Turkey as a national and international resort, but when it comes to politics, it is entirely a village where only local names and allegiances work. The candidates and their teams seem to be carefully chosen to maximize the networks of interests, to the extent that the same family names appear on each party’s lists. One wonders how they will manage to sit down together at the next wedding celebration.
The main question for all of the voters in all villages is not change, but what is actually achievable, and most of the promises resting on new infrastructure, are subject to "The Plan." That is the scheme for the whole of the peninsula, and the final version issued by the national government last year included alarming provisions such as allowing five-story buildings.
The new residents and largely nonvoting international population are onlookers. One interested non-voter resident in Turgutreis, who declined to be named "for fear of being targeted by the local authorities," said the campaigns in town probably have no time for the foreigners, as they are chasing the local "foreign" vote, that of the many settlers in Turgutreis who have come from the east of Turkey.
Positive aspect
In Yalıkavak where the highest number of foreign residents and home ownership is believed to be, the "foreigners" have not been singled out as an interest group, in contrast to neighboring Gümüşlük, when a surprising 100 residents turned out to an invitation to discuss issues with the Democratic Party, or DP, candidate, a rare mayoral hopefuls on the peninsula to speak fluent English.
If there is a positive aspect of the abundance of municipalities, it is that more people are involved at the grassroots level of the campaigns, where the belief is strong that participation is the key to local government of the future.