Turkish opposition candidate faces allegations in lead-up to local elections
The favored candidate to become mayor of Ankara has been charged with professional misconduct as a lawyer, but it seems the attempt to discredit him hasn't worked as planned.
ANKARA, Turkey — The electoral race for mayor of Turkey’s capital took a surprising turn today, when an attempt to discredit the leading opposition candidate, and presumed front-runner, appeared to collapse. A pro-government columnist published a withering evaluation of the personality at the center of the smear campaign.
The government has its back to the wall in the March 31 elections. Legions of voters are fed up with the soaring cost of food, 20% inflation and 12% unemployment. They are expected to vote against the Justice and Development Party (AKP) of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, which has held Ankara city hall for the past 25 years.
The favored candidate is Mansur Yavas. A former mayor of a town on the outskirts of the city, Yavas is backed by the leading opposition party, the Republican People’s Party (CHP), and the Good Party (Iyi).
Pollsters are not giving figures but they say that Yavas is ahead. On Monday, he told the Hurriyet newspaper group that he was “eight to 11 points ahead."
