Erbakan's response to 'bargaining' claims: No alliance outside of 3 major cities

Yeniden Refah Party Chairman Fatih Erbakan recently held a surprise meeting with President and AKP Chairman Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.

EMPHASIS ON 3 MAJOR CITIES

Erbakan made statements during a television program regarding claims that they requested management rights in metropolitan municipalities and municipal companies.

Erbakan said, "It is out of the question for us to sit down and bargain with our President over İGDAŞ or restaurants operated by the municipality. We clearly reject the claims that we requested the Malatya and Bursa Metropolitan Municipalities, or even some subsidiaries of the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality," he said. Erbakan added, "If an alliance is to be discussed, it could only be on the basis of the Istanbul, Ankara, and İzmir Metropolitan Municipalities. In other provinces and districts, we will participate in the elections with our own candidates."

Erbakan stated that even if there is a possibility of an alliance, it could only be within the framework of the 3 major cities, and that they would field their own candidates in all remaining provinces and districts, stating the following:

REJECTED "CONTACT WITH AKP" CLAIMS

"In a 45-50 minute meeting with our President, we discussed Gaza and the national agenda, as well as cooperation for the local elections. However, we clearly and unequivocally reject the claims that we requested the Malatya and Bursa Metropolitan Municipalities, or even some subsidiaries of the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality during this meeting. It is out of the question for us to sit down and bargain with our President over Istanbul Gas and Natural Gas Distribution Inc. (İGDAŞ) or restaurants operated by the municipality. None of our officials have had any contact with AKP officials regarding an alliance. Therefore, the allegations put forward in the public eye are entirely untrue."

THE ORGANIZATION'S VIEW ON LOCAL ELECTIONS

"To date, we have announced 150 of our mayoral candidates, and it is not possible to withdraw these candidates we have announced. As we have said from the beginning, if an alliance is to be discussed, it could only be on the basis of the Istanbul, Ankara, and İzmir Metropolitan Municipalities. In other provinces and districts, we will participate in the elections with our own candidates. Our organizations are also of the opinion that local elections are not as critical as the Presidential election. We will make our decision in the coming days after consulting with our authorized bodies."

News Source: 12punto