January 23, 2014 | 16:24
YEREVAN. – Turkey’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), led by PM Recep Tayyip Erdogan, faces the danger of losing power in Istanbul and in Ankara, in the forthcoming local government elections, since the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) has nominated strong candidates.
Armenian turkologist Andranik Ispiryan stated the aforesaid at a press conference on Thursday.
Ispiryan noted that the recent developments in Turkey have dealt a serious blow to the AKP’s rating, and this will have an impact on the abovementioned elections, which are slated for March 30.
In the turkologist’s words, the CHP mayoral candidates for Istanbul and capital city Ankara pose a serious danger to the AKP.
“The CHP candidate in Istanbul is the serving Sisli Mayor Mustafa Sarigul, who is the sole Turkish mayor who has received the special medal of the Armenian Patriarchate [of Constantinople]. Sarigul has good relations with the Armenian community, and he is known for the renovation of several Armenian churches,” Ispiryan said.
The turkologist stressed that Erdogan and his party will not achieve favorable results likewise in the Turkish cities that border Armenia.
“The incumbent mayor of Kars, who recently made announcements that instill enmity toward Armenians and ruled out the opening of the [Turkish] border with Armenia, again has been nominated by the ruling party; this fact was not well accepted by the people of Kars, who see their well-being in the opening of the border with Armenia,” he noted.
Andranik Ispiryan added that the situation is the same in Turkey’s other eastern cities.