ISTANBUL — As Turkey gears up for a parliamentary election in June, there is intense speculation that the youngest daughter of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan may run for a seat in the national assembly. Sumeyye Erdogan, 30, has not commented publicly on the issue, but politicians from both government and opposition ranks say they are certain that she will try to win a seat for the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP). Critics say an effort to shield members of the first family from corruption investigations lies behind the expected move to win her a seat in Ankara.
Sumeyye, a US-educated political scientist who also holds a degree from the London School of Economics, served as an adviser to her father during his tenure as AKP leader and prime minister, accompanying him on many foreign trips until she gave up her post when Erdogan was elected president last year. Nowadays, the unmarried Erdogan, youngest of the president’s four children, works as the deputy chairwoman of the Association for Women and Democracy, a women’s rights group.