Critical Istanbul message from Erbakan: Some pollsters suggested they withdraw in favor of YRP!

Yeniden Refah Party leader Fatih Erbakan spoke to journalist Murat Yetkin just hours before the candidate lists for the local elections were to be submitted to the Supreme Election Council (YSK).

Erbakan said, "We will submit the lists. There is no question of us withdrawing. If we withdraw now, we would become the spare tire of the AK Party."

TWO DISTRICTS IN KOCAELI, SAKARYA AND ISTANBUL

After no results came from the 5 meetings held with the AKP, YRP leader Erbakan, who decided to field candidates in the elections, said the following regarding the alliance negotiations:

"It was the AK Party that approached us for cooperation. They had already approached us before the May 14 elections as well. We also had certain demands for cooperation. At that time, we were appearing at 5-6 percent in the polls in Istanbul.

We have a claim in two provinces (confirming my reminder of Kocaeli and Sakarya). We also appear to be over 10 percent in Kütahya and Karabük. But the negotiations were not cut off just because they didn't give us Kocaeli. We asked for two districts in Istanbul. Arnavutköy on the European side is a district we won back in the Refah Party era. And Sultanbeyli on the Anatolian side."

"WE COULD NOT ACCEPT THIS"

Touching on why the negotiations with the AKP were cut off, Erbakan continued his words as follows:

“They declared to us that they could not change the provincial and district candidacies because they had already been announced. Yet, before May 14, we had given up on our presidential candidacy within the framework of our agreement under the People's Alliance.

Instead of provincial and district candidacies, they offered us 2-3 Municipal Council memberships. It is the same as what they offered to the BBP, which appears to have around 0.6-0.7 percent of the vote in the polls. They told us that we received the 3 percent vote across Turkey on May 14 'for the sake of' our cooperation with them. We could not accept this.

Moreover, there is no support in our base for cooperating with the AK Party in the local elections; in fact, there is a reaction due to May 14. In this situation, we announced our candidates for Istanbul, Ankara, and Izmir."

"WE WOULD BECOME THE AK PARTY'S SPARE TIRE"

When asked by the AKP, "If a last-minute offer came and the demand was met, would you have changed your mind at the last minute?" Erbakan replied, "We will submit the lists. There is no question of us withdrawing; if we withdraw now, we would be denying ourselves. We would become the AK Party's spare tire."

"THEY COULD PULL A SURPRISE IN FATIH, USKUDAR AND EYUP"

Erbakan stated that some pollsters came to them and suggested they withdraw by saying that Ekrem Imamoglu would win in Istanbul if they did not support the AK Party, and shared his predictions regarding the Istanbul and Ankara elections.

Erbakan spoke as follows:

"They tell us that Murat Kurum cannot win if we do not support them. Look, when the DEM Party says they are not obliged to help any party win an election, it is not an issue, but when we run with our own candidate, it becomes an issue.

Our assessment is that Ekrem Bey is luckier in Istanbul and could win. They could pull a surprise, especially in districts like Fatih, Uskudar, and Eyup. When people say Eyup, some friends think it's just around the Eyup Sultan Mosque; however, it is all of Eyup up to Gokturk.

In Ankara, I predict that Mansur Yavas can win comfortably. Turgut (Altinok) Bey could not show much presence."

WE WILL SEE ON THE EVENING OF MARCH 31

While expressing, "We took a risk," Erbakan concluded his words by saying, "We trust our voters. We will all see the result together on the evening of March 31."

News Source: 12punto