Political Islamists brace to lose financial favors after Istanbul shift
After major gains in local elections last month, including a landmark victory in Istanbul, Turkey’s main opposition vows to turn off the funding spigots for Islamic entities, which have long underpinned the ruling party’s electoral machine.
The main opposition’s election victory in Istanbul — Turkey’s biggest city and economic hub — has set the stage for major changes in how the city’s budget is spent. Since his razor-thin victory in the March 31 polls, the new mayor — Ekrem Imamoglu of the Republican People’s Party (CHP), whose victory is still being challenged by the election board — has vowed that the era of “serving [certain] individuals, associations, foundations and communities is over.”
Imamoglu’s remarks seemed to single out not only the business cronies of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), but also groups espousing political Islam. Such groups have significantly expanded their financial and social clout under the AKP.
Al-Monitor asked CHP leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu what groups the new mayor meant. Was he announcing an end to funding for entities such as the Ensar Foundation and the Turkey Youth and Education Service Foundation, which espouse political Islam and are closely linked to the AKP government? Kilicdaroglu answered in the affirmative. “We are against such transfers of municipal funds,” he said. “Municipal funds belong to the local people and should be used in line with their needs. The local people must know where the money goes.”
Kilicdaroglu was confident that the termination of such funding would be easy to implement. “Once the mayor makes the decision, it will be very easy,” he said.
