Turkish ruling party sets up mobile food stalls to lure votes
Turks are lining up in the thousands to buy subsidized vegetables at mobile stalls in Istanbul and Ankara as the ruling party attempts to fight soaring food prices ahead of elections.
![TURKEY-ECONOMY/INFLATION People wait in line to buy vegetables sold in a tent set up by the municipality in the Bayrampasa district of Istanbul, Turkey, February 11, 2019. REUTERS/Murad Sezer - RC19F3ABA9F0](/sites/default/files/styles/article_hero_medium/public/almpics/2019/02/RTX6M9VC.jpg/RTX6M9VC.jpg?h=a5ae579a&itok=Z8uU57-6)
Thousands of citizens queued to buy cheap vegetables for a second day today at mobile stalls erected by the government, part of a last-ditch bid to combat inflation and curry voters’ favor ahead of municipal elections that are due to be held on March 31. The stalls sell eggplants, tomatoes, onions and peppers at half the market price, in line with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s newly declared war against alleged profiteers and speculators.
“Just as the state finished off the terrorists in the caves, we will finish off those who are unleashing terror in the wholesale halls," he roared at a public gathering on Sunday in an apparent reference to the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK).