After weeks of controversy, the CHP, the main Turkish opposition party, confirmed the name of its candidate for the next municipal elections in Hatay, the city most affected by the earthquakes of February 6, 2023. Lütfü Savas, the outgoing mayor , will try to keep his seat despite the strong criticism he received after the devastating earthquake.
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With our correspondent in Istanbul, Anne Andlauer
If the main Turkish opposition party has chosen to once again nominate its outgoing mayor, Lütfü Savas, for the municipal elections in Hatay, it is because it has not found anything better. A bit of a strange way to support your candidate, but that’s how CHP leader Özgür Özel presented things.
Critical
Lütfü Savas is widely criticized by some residents, and within the opposition in general, for having approved constructions which collapsed on February 6, 2023, or for having, just after the earthquake, defended the developer of a residence which collapsed on its 700 inhabitants.
But according to the CHP, no other name is doing better than him in the polls and Lütfü Savas, who despite everything retains a certain electoral base, had suggested that he would run as an independent if his party did not nominate him. Within the CHP, we also note that the popularity of the outgoing mayor is greater than that of his party. In the 2023 legislative elections, the opposition alliance dominated by the CHP won only 36% of the votes in Hatay, compared to 48% for President Erdogan’s alliance.
Less bad choice
Clearly, Lütfü Savas was the least bad choice if the main opposition party wants to keep Hatay town hall. An observation that says a lot about the CHP and its ability to embody the alternative in the Turkish political landscape.
Also listenMajor Report – Hatay: one year after the earthquake, ruins and ghosts