Physical Address
Indirizzo: Via Mario Greco 60, Buttigliera Alta, 10090, Torino, Italy
Speaking at his ruling Justice and Development Party’s (AK Party) first parliamentary meeting after the March 31 local elections, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on Wednesday promised sweeping changes and self-criticism at the party “in line with people’s demands.”
“Turkish people undoubtedly asked us to do a comprehensive, sincere and bold self-criticism on March 31 and AK Party must read the message correctly,” Erdoğan told a cheering crowd of party members.
“Our distinctive quality is that we are able to analyze our rights and wrongs and realize the necessary development per the criticism and demands of our people,” Erdoğan assured.
The ruling party won 74 mayoral seats in total on March 31, including for 28 metropolitan cities but it ceded 14 of the 22 cities it won in the 2019 elections to the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP), marking its first loss since 2001.
CHP won 35 of Türkiye’s 81 provincial capitals, including Istanbul and Ankara, managing to take the lead in polls for the first time in decades.
Erdoğan has since acknowledged the failure to achieve success, the necessity for self-criticism and assured sweeping changes were due at his party. He has ordered his members to set up a council that will investigate and bring back to him a report outlining the causes of party’s loss of voter support.
The party is also expected to produce a new winning formula, a new roadmap for its lawmakers and return to its reformist roots.
