In the 2019 local elections, the nationalist opposition IYI party endorsed the candidates of the Republican People’s Party (CHP), the country’s largest opposition party, in the main cities of Istanbul and Ankara, and the pro-Kurdish People’s Democratic Party (HDP), which rebranded as the Peoples’ Equality and Democratic Party (HEDEP) due to legal issues, did not field candidates in the western provinces, resulting in CHP winning the mayoralty of the largest Turkish provinces of Istanbul, Ankara, Izmir, and Antalya.
Last week, CHP leader Ozgur Ozel offered the IYI Party an opportunity to cooperate in the local elections set to be held in March 2024. Both parties were among the protagonists of the opposition’s Nation Alliance’s failed bid to unseat the ruling AKP and Erdogan in May’s parliamentary and presidential elections.
Kursad Zorlu, the spokesperson of the IYI party, announced on Monday that the party's general administrative board had voted against cooperating with the CHP. As a result, the party will run independently in the upcoming elections.
“Our IYI party will enter the elections freely and independently,” Zorlu said.
Last week, Ozel said that CHP would respect any decision the IYI party might choose to take.
CHP’s challenge at the local elections is to retain control of Turkey’s largest provinces of Istanbul and Ankara, which it won the mayoralty of in the 2019 elections, after nearly two decades of AKP dominance.
The pro-Kurdish HEDEP also announced on Monday that the party’s central executive board suggested fielding candidates in every province across Turkey ahead of the elections. The board’s suggestion will be assessed by the party’s leadership, said spokesperson Aysegul Dogan.
Erdogan in August verbally attacked the mayors of Istanbul and Ankara, whom he described as “inept,” and vowed to take back the municipalities under their control.
“We will reveal the real faces of those who try to cover up their failures in municipalities with fake agendas and exaggerated rhetoric, and in March 2024, we will take the trust from the inept [mayors] and give it to its people,” Erdogan said.
