CHP, İYİ Party reach agreement on alliance in several provinces

ANKARA

The main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) and İYİ (Good) Party have agreed to cooperate in 22 metropolitans and 27 provinces.

Their “Nation Alliance” will support CHP candidates in 12 metropolitans and 16 provinces and will support İYİ Party candidates in 10 metropolitans and 11 provinces.

“We are not in a dispute. We would like all municipalities to embrace every single citizen. I am happy that we have put this concept of democracy and consensus culture in the broader context before Turkey,” CHP leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu said on Jan. 24 after a meeting with İYİ Party leader Meral Akşener.

Akşener for her part said a climate of war had covered the country in the run up to the local elections. “It’s as if we are going to war, but we’re only going to be electing muhtars [village heads] and mayors,” she said, while criticizing politicians for using a “polarizing” rhetoric.

The two parties have already agreed on presenting joint candidates in many metropolises and cities under the “Nation Alliance” they had formed before the June 24, 2018 presidential and parliamentary elections.

The Etimesgut district of the capital Ankara and Bodrum district of the Aegean province of Muğla were a hot potato issue in the alliance talks of the two parties. They have reached a consensus to run their individual candidates.

The CHP and İYİ Party have been in talks of alliance for the local elections since November 2018.

Tensions ran high in the alliance talks between the CHP and İYİ Party when both parties disagreed on having Mansur Yavaş run as mayor for Ankara Metropolitan Municipality on İYİ Party’s ticket.

Mansur Yavaş, the former CHP mayoral candidate for the 2014 local elections, was announced as the CHP’s candidate for Ankara. İYİ Party later eventually endorsed him as their candidate as part of the alliance on Dec. 18, 2018.