“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 during a speech congratulating the 22nd anniversary of the establishment of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP).
The Turkish president directed his comments towards opposition parties, accusing them of pushing their short-term agendas and attempting to harm Ankara. He urged his party members to begin preparing for the upcoming local elections in 2024 by working “efficiently and diligently.”
“We do not have time to waste with these greedy people,” he added.
Erdogan expressed gratitude towards the Turkish people for their support in his party's success during the last presidential and parliamentary elections in May. He also noted that the opposition has yet to accept their defeat.
Erdogan and his AK party scored a historic win in the most contentious election in Turkey’s recent history, by defeating the CHP-led opposition bloc and their candidate Kemal Kilicdaroglu, keeping the Erdogan in office until 2028.
Erdogan’s comments come at a time when CHP is engulfed in an internal conflict, as people within the party call for change following the defeat in the elections.
In response to the defeat, CHP undertook an overhaul of its leadership which was ultimately criticized as it saw the selection of people close to Kilicdaroglu who vowed to take the party to safety and pave the way toward change.
The Turkish local elections are set to take place in March 2024. Erdogan and AKP aim at taking back Istanbul and Ankara municipalities which they lost to the country’s largest opposition party, the Republican People’s Party (CHP) in 2019.
AKP was established on August 14, 2001, and gained prominence in politics under the leadership of Erdogan who assumed the position of prime minister in 2003 and has been the president since 2014.