Following İstanbul Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Kadir Topbaş’s resignation from his post, Ankara Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Melih Gökçek is also on the ropes following ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) chair and President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's recent inflammatory signal to the resignation of Gökçek and some other mayors.
Kadir Topbaş, AKP’s ex-mayor of İstanbul, the largest city of Turkey, resigned from his post on Sept. 22. Now, Melih Gökçek, another AKP member and a controversial and corrupt personality who ruled Turkish capital Ankara since 1994, is expected to submit his resignation. Some other mayors from the ruling party are also in the list of resignation imposed by Erdoğan.
THE BELLS TOLL FOR ANKARA MAYOR GÖKÇEK
Abdülkadir Selvi, a well-connected, pro-government columnist from Hürriyet daily, wrote on Oct. 5 that the countdown has already started for the resignation process of Melih Gökçek following the message of President Erdoğan.
"Some cities, including İstanbul and Ankara, lowered the 'yes' votes during the April 16 referendum. They gave bad signals for the elections in 2019. Erdoğan deduced the picture of the presidential election [of 2019] from the results of April 16 [referendum]. He pushed the button of changing," Selvi noted, referring to Erdoğan’s reformation plan in advance of the triple election in 2019.
Erdoğan talked to reporters on Oct. 5 on his return from a one-day visit to Iran. "There are two alternatives [for resignation]: Expulsion from the party or dismissal on the grounds of negligence and misconduct of the office. We do not want to resort to these alternatives," he said, implying the mayors from the ruling party, including Gökçek, who have resisted the request of resignation from the party administration.
ERDOĞAN SAYS PARTY ADMINISTRATORS SUFFER FROM 'METAL FATIGUE'
"We are not an ordinary political party. At the same time, our political party our political cause. Those who believe in this cause must submit their resignation when necessary," Erdoğan added, sending harsh signals to those mayors who have not submitted their resignations yet.
Showing his resolution in the readjustment of his party, he said, "If you say 'I have my own honour', no offence, but the honour of the party is more important than yours," Erdoğan also indicated to the need of preparations for the local elections that will be held in March 2019.
Following the fraudulent April 16 referendum that was held under a state of emergency declared after the failed military coup in July 2016 and shifted Turkey’s parliamentary system to an executive presidency, Erdoğan took the leadership of the AKP in May 2017. Later on, Erdoğan vowed to impose a substantial change to the party organisation and all provincial branches alleging that they were suffering from "metal fatigue."
In late hours of Oct. 5, Turkish media sources have reported that Gökçek has departed to President Erdoğan’s presidential palace in Ankara to talk about the situation and process. Talking in a live broadcast of CNN Türk, journalist Abdülkadir Selvi has said, "The process of resignation has started. It is a very important situation that Erdoğan and Gökçek meet and maintain the process together. In my opinion, Gökçek will resign in a reasonable time span after this meeting."
Meanwhile, the General Secretary of the Communist Party of Turkey (TKP), Kemal Okuyan portrays the recent developments in the governing AKP party as an intra-party fight stemming from the competition of profit distribution, noting that no different ideological opinions but financial interests are skirmishing in the AKP.
