Ruling AKP heads back to the drawing board
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Hurriyet Daily News
Oluşturulma Tarihi: Nisan 01, 2009 00:00
ISTANBUL - The main loser of the local elections on Sunday is widely viewed as the ruling AKP with much of the opposition gaining ground.
Despite winning the vote comfortably on Sunday, the ruling party was the biggest loser when this year's results are compared to the last local elections, especially considering almost all the opposition parties increased their support this year.
All the senior members of the Justice and Development Party, or AKP, parliamentary deputies and ministers were sent to their constituency to drum up support for the AKP, with Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said to be of the opinion that they should be held accountable for anything that happened.
Nine of the ministers failed to ensure the AKP won in their constituencies. Justice Minister Mehmet Ali Şahin mobilized the local party resources in the Mediterranean province of Antalya before the elections, even going as far as saying that if the ruling party’s candidate was not elected, Antalya would not get any services.
Still, the Republican People’s Party, or CHP, candidate Mustafa Akaydın won over the AKP incumbent Menderes Türel, shaking Şahin’s ministerial seat. Education Minister Hüseyin Çelik suffered a similar loss in the eastern province of Van, where the seemingly strong AKP presence there gave way to a victory by the pro-Kurdish Democratic Society Party, or DTP.
State Minister for Foreign Trade Kürşad Tüzmen sent to the Mediterranean province of Mersin to mobilize support for the ruling party spent 20 days touring the province with the local candidates.
After failing to ensure the CHP incumbent, Macit Özcan, did not win a second term, the only thing disappointed Tüzmen could say was, "We promised to turn Mersin into Dubai. But when it rains, Mersin turns into Venice. In other words, everyone gets who they deserve."
The comprehensive win by the Democratic Society Party, or DTP, in the southeastern province of Diyarbakır is threatening to unseat Agriculture Minister Mehdi Eker, who is said to have lost to the DTP even in his own village.
The victory of the CHP in İzmir is making three ministers very uncomfortable, with State Minister Mehmet Aydın, Defense Minister Vecdi Gönül and Culture Minister Ertuğrul Günay all having campaigned for an AKP win there.
In neighboring Manisa, one of the most senior members of the AKP, former Parliamentary Speaker Bülent Arınç, was gracious in his defeat, congratulating the Nationalist Movement Party, or MHP, candidate Cengiz Ergün for his victory and thanking the defeated AKP mayor Bülent Kar for his services.
However, he claimed there was a secret alliance between the CHP and the MHP where they supported each other when one of their candidates was stronger.
The loss in Adana will also have certain repercussions for Dengir Mir Mehmet Fırat and Ömer Çelik, who are close working associates of the prime minister.
The eastern province of Şanlıurfa staged one of the most colorful contests in the elections. Despite the evident popularity of the city’s mayor, Ahmet Eşref Fakıbaba, and the AKP headquarters deciding to back him for another term, the AKP parliamentarians of the province pressured the prime minister to pick someone else, reportedly telling him, "You can make the public elect a jacket if you want to."
Fakıbaba’s response was to resign from the party and run as an independent. His main campaign slogan was the jacket, with supporters waving them at every rally. With the Saadet (Felicity) Party’s support, independent Fakıbaba won, beating his AKP replacement picked by the local deputies. Deputies will now need to explain to Erdoğan why their predictions were so off the chart.
However, the biggest loser must be the AKP’s mayor in the Aegean province Muğla’s Dalaman district, Beyhan Korkut, who lost to the MHP candidate on Sunday before being arrested Monday morning with 18 other municipal officials for corruption in office.
In terms of gender equality, the female representation worsened in Sunday’s elections, with the number of female mayors decreasing from 18 to 17 out of the 3,215. The DTP could be the only party that could truly claim to respect gender equality, 13 of the 17 mayors coming from that party are women.
All the senior members of the Justice and Development Party, or AKP, parliamentary deputies and ministers were sent to their constituency to drum up support for the AKP, with Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said to be of the opinion that they should be held accountable for anything that happened.
Nine of the ministers failed to ensure the AKP won in their constituencies. Justice Minister Mehmet Ali Şahin mobilized the local party resources in the Mediterranean province of Antalya before the elections, even going as far as saying that if the ruling party’s candidate was not elected, Antalya would not get any services.
Still, the Republican People’s Party, or CHP, candidate Mustafa Akaydın won over the AKP incumbent Menderes Türel, shaking Şahin’s ministerial seat. Education Minister Hüseyin Çelik suffered a similar loss in the eastern province of Van, where the seemingly strong AKP presence there gave way to a victory by the pro-Kurdish Democratic Society Party, or DTP.
State Minister for Foreign Trade Kürşad Tüzmen sent to the Mediterranean province of Mersin to mobilize support for the ruling party spent 20 days touring the province with the local candidates.
After failing to ensure the CHP incumbent, Macit Özcan, did not win a second term, the only thing disappointed Tüzmen could say was, "We promised to turn Mersin into Dubai. But when it rains, Mersin turns into Venice. In other words, everyone gets who they deserve."
The comprehensive win by the Democratic Society Party, or DTP, in the southeastern province of Diyarbakır is threatening to unseat Agriculture Minister Mehdi Eker, who is said to have lost to the DTP even in his own village.
The victory of the CHP in İzmir is making three ministers very uncomfortable, with State Minister Mehmet Aydın, Defense Minister Vecdi Gönül and Culture Minister Ertuğrul Günay all having campaigned for an AKP win there.
In neighboring Manisa, one of the most senior members of the AKP, former Parliamentary Speaker Bülent Arınç, was gracious in his defeat, congratulating the Nationalist Movement Party, or MHP, candidate Cengiz Ergün for his victory and thanking the defeated AKP mayor Bülent Kar for his services.
However, he claimed there was a secret alliance between the CHP and the MHP where they supported each other when one of their candidates was stronger.
The loss in Adana will also have certain repercussions for Dengir Mir Mehmet Fırat and Ömer Çelik, who are close working associates of the prime minister.
The eastern province of Şanlıurfa staged one of the most colorful contests in the elections. Despite the evident popularity of the city’s mayor, Ahmet Eşref Fakıbaba, and the AKP headquarters deciding to back him for another term, the AKP parliamentarians of the province pressured the prime minister to pick someone else, reportedly telling him, "You can make the public elect a jacket if you want to."
Fakıbaba’s response was to resign from the party and run as an independent. His main campaign slogan was the jacket, with supporters waving them at every rally. With the Saadet (Felicity) Party’s support, independent Fakıbaba won, beating his AKP replacement picked by the local deputies. Deputies will now need to explain to Erdoğan why their predictions were so off the chart.
However, the biggest loser must be the AKP’s mayor in the Aegean province Muğla’s Dalaman district, Beyhan Korkut, who lost to the MHP candidate on Sunday before being arrested Monday morning with 18 other municipal officials for corruption in office.
In terms of gender equality, the female representation worsened in Sunday’s elections, with the number of female mayors decreasing from 18 to 17 out of the 3,215. The DTP could be the only party that could truly claim to respect gender equality, 13 of the 17 mayors coming from that party are women.