Sanliurfa crisis in AKP; Party members revolt! If he is nominated, we will resign!

As the local elections approach, political parties continue their efforts to determine their candidates.

Abdülhakim Ayhan, who won the Akçakale mayoral seat in Şanlıurfa as the AKP candidate in 2014, resigned from the AKP and joined the Felicity Party after not being re-nominated in the 2019 elections. Ayhan, who was the Felicity Party's candidate in 2019, did not win the election.

The claim that Ayhan will be nominated by the AKP for the local elections on March 31, 2024, has caused an uproar among party members.

Gathering in front of the AKP Şanlıurfa Provincial Headquarters, AKP members announced that they do not accept the nomination of Abdülhakim Ayhan in Akçakale. Reading the press statement on behalf of nearly 100 AKP members, AKP Akçakale District Deputy Chairman İsa Yapma stated the following:

“HE RESIGNED FROM THE AK PARTY AND BECAME A CANDIDATE FROM THE CHP ALLIANCE”

“In the 2019 municipal elections, despite the warnings of many of our opinion leaders, our former mayor Abdülhakim Ayhan resigned from the AK Party and became a candidate from the alliance of the Felicity Party, HDP, IYI Party, and CHP. The votes he received from these are clear. This is a betrayal of the People's Alliance. We cannot accept this. It is very significant that despite knowing all this, Deputy Hikmet Başak threatens the AK Party with resignation if former mayor Abdülhakim Ayhan is not nominated. As Şanlıurfa Metropolitan Municipal Council members, Akçakale District Council members, and AK Party District Board members, we in no way accept the candidacy of Abdülhakim Ayhan, who was mentioned on social media yesterday as the candidate for our district for the Akçakale AK Party mayoralty, as he provided no services to our district in the past, caused social tension, and is associated with irregularities and corruption during his time in office.”

“WE DECLARE THAT WE WILL RESIGN”

“He turned the district into a dump, worked against our party in past periods, and was involved in events that caused social tension. We believe that Abdülhakim Ayhan should not be nominated so that our district of Akçakale can receive the services it deserves and social peace can be ensured. For this reason, we invite our provincial and district chairmen to make a decision in line with the interests of our district. As provincial and district municipal council members and district board members, we have shown that we stand with our President and the AK Party in past general and local elections through our ballot boxes. Therefore, we declare that we will resign if Abdülhakim Ayhan is nominated.”

News Source: 12punto