ERBIL, Kurdistan Region —The leader of Turkish Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) said on Saturday that his party again will team up with the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) in the upcoming provincial elections to keep the presidential system and to protect state security.
“The architect of Turkish presidential system is surely the People’s Alliance. This alliance’s continuation is a must for the survival of the system and the nation,” Devlet Bahceli told journalists in Antalya, claiming that the alliance is the “protector” of security in the country.
Both parties allied for the snap parliamentary election on June 24 and won 344 of 600-seats in the legislature — 295 for AKP and 49 for MHP.
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s one-man rule is dependent upon the MHP because get bills through parliament without the support of the ultra-nationalist MHP.
Bahceli added they will not nominate any candidates for the larger cities like Istanbul, Izmir and Ankara provinces, as a sign of support for AKP.
The AKP is also willing to maintain the alliance because it needs the MHP’s nationalistic support in some provinces.
Update: 3:15 p.m.
“The architect of Turkish presidential system is surely the People’s Alliance. This alliance’s continuation is a must for the survival of the system and the nation,” Devlet Bahceli told journalists in Antalya, claiming that the alliance is the “protector” of security in the country.
Both parties allied for the snap parliamentary election on June 24 and won 344 of 600-seats in the legislature — 295 for AKP and 49 for MHP.
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s one-man rule is dependent upon the MHP because get bills through parliament without the support of the ultra-nationalist MHP.
Bahceli added they will not nominate any candidates for the larger cities like Istanbul, Izmir and Ankara provinces, as a sign of support for AKP.
The AKP is also willing to maintain the alliance because it needs the MHP’s nationalistic support in some provinces.
On Saturday at party meeting, Erdogan announced the names of some of his party's nominees for provincial election in Istanbul, thanking Bahceli for his "support on this blessed walk."
Turkish provincial elections will be held no later than March 31 in some 80 provinces.
Kurdish parties and the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) are trying to forge an alliance - something they failed to achieve in June’s election.
The Nation’s Alliance, which consisted of four Turkish nationalist parties, is unlikely to again team up.
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