AKP looks to elbow Saadet out of Istanbul race
As Istanbul’s second municipal election nears, the ruling party is pressuring another Islamist party to bow out and courting Kurdish voters.
With days left before a critical redo of Istanbul’s municipal elections, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his Justice and Development Party (AKP) have pulled out all the stops in a concerted effort to assure victory over their secular rival this time.
According to the leader of Felicity or Saadet, a small overtly pro-Islamist party, the latest tactic is to force it to step out of the race. Temel Karamollaoglu said, “Certain people keep raising the question of our leaving the race. We will not withdraw from the race.” Karamollaoglu’s comments came day after Saadet’s Istanbul provincial boss, Abdullah Sevim, said his party was facing intense pressure from the AKP to withdraw its mayoral candidate.
