BBP sets condition for supporting AKP in local elections! Mustafa Destici wants that metropolitan municipality...

As political parties continue to announce their mayoral candidates for the local elections, cooperation negotiations are also ongoing.

Great Unity Party (BBP) Chairman Mustafa Destici, a junior partner in the People's Alliance, met with representatives of media organizations at an event for the January 10 Working Journalists Day.

Making statements regarding the agenda, Destici noted that they aim to double their votes in the local elections to be held in March compared to the 2019 local elections. Stating that they are acting with sensitivity toward the People's Alliance, Destici said:

"Negotiations between our party delegations and the AK Party are continuing. At the point we have reached, there will of course be provinces, districts, and towns where we will enter with our own candidates, especially Sivas. But on the other hand, there will also be provinces, metropolitan municipalities, and districts where we will enter in cooperation with the People's Alliance."

Destici announced that they plan to announce their Sivas and regional candidates in Sivas this weekend, and that other candidates will be announced at their party's 31st anniversary celebration on January 29.

Responding to journalists' questions, Destici said the following regarding the latest status of the negotiations with the People's Alliance:

"Negotiations are continuing. Inter-delegation meetings are also continuing. Perhaps a meeting with our President may take place today or in the coming days. Therefore, these negotiations have not yet been fully concluded. For this reason, it is not yet fully clear in which provinces we will cooperate, in which districts we will enter with our own candidates, whether our party's candidates will be joint candidates, or in which provinces we will support the People's Alliance candidates or the People's Alliance candidates for mayoralty. Our negotiations are continuing. But in principle, there is a declaration of will to enter together in some places, especially in metropolitan municipalities."

"THE BASE NEEDS TO BE MOTIVATED"

In response to a question about whether they have a demand for their own candidates to be supported in Sivas, Destici stated that they do have such a demand, but that they are not discussing it as a bargaining chip.

Destici said, "The Great Unity Party base and the community need to be motivated. And the primary thing that would motivate them would be leaving the Sivas Mayoralty to the Great Unity Party. After that, it would be in the form of nominating BBP candidates in these districts, especially those where the base is high or where we received high votes, competed, or won in previous elections."

Upon being asked, "Will you nominate candidates from the East and Southeast?", Destici replied, "Our sensitivity there is this: there is no such thing as us nominating candidates everywhere or not nominating them at all. Our priority is this: we have not fielded candidates to date in places where the HDP—which is now DEM, or rather the PKK's party—has a chance of winning. And we have supported the People's Alliance candidates, mostly AK Party candidates, in that region."

Giving examples from the last elections, Destici said, "Of course, we will field our candidates in places where we can win."

STATEMENT ON STRAY DOGS

When asked about his views on stray dogs, Destici used the expression, "Our primary duty is to keep humans alive. Therefore, we do not have a primary duty to keep dogs alive."

Recalling the BBP's Sivas Mayoralty period between 2009-2014, Destici said, "Whichever city, district, or town municipality our nation entrusts to us, one month after we take over the municipality, no one will be able to see a single stray dog there. We promise this."