P.A. Turkey

(UPDATE: Imamoglu vs Kurum polls) Former  Urban & Environmental Affairs Minister Kurum to face Ekrem Imamoglu in Istanbul race

According to the December research conducted by MetroPoll, citizens were asked what the result would be if İmamoğlu and Kurum competed. İmamoğlu gets 48.2 percent of the votes and Kurum gets 33.9 percent. 17.9 percent say "I have no idea." 84.2 percent of İyi Party members and 75 percent of DEM Party members will vote for İmamoğlu. 6.1 percent of İyi Party members and 2.7 percent of DEM Party members will vote for Kurum.

Sonar asked last month, "Who would you like to see as the Mayor of Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality after the local elections?" the question was open-ended. 31 percent said İmamoğlu, 6.7 percent said Kurum. While İmamoğlu's recognition rate was 93.7 percent, that of Kurum was 67.8 percent. While 51 percent of the participants found İmamoğlu suitable for the presidency of the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality, this rate was 36.9 percent for his rival.

According to Optimar's November research, İmamoğlu receives 48.8 percent of the votes and Kurum receives 30.2 percent. Those who say they will not vote for either of them are 20.9 percent.

 

 

Murat Kurum, who currently represents one of Istanbul’s districts in Turkey’s parliament, will attempt to retake Istanbul for Erdogan’s AKP party.  The  former Minister for Urban and Environmental Minister has not polled well against Imamoglu, but is chosen by Erdogan because he is “more moderate” than other contenders, which is seen as necessary to win the municipal race in the giant, ethnically mixed and liberal Istanbul.  The opposition press began immediately attacking him for his record in the Cabinet, accusing him of pandering to construction companies and overseeing the environmental destruction of Anatolian lakes.

 

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Sunday entrusted a former environment minister to run for mayor of Istanbul and avenge the worst political defeat of the Turkish leader’s two-decade rule.

 

Murat Kurum will represent Erdogan’s Islamic conservative Justice and Development Party (AKP) in the 31 March municipal elections in which control of Turkey’s main cities will be up for grabs.

 

The secular opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) seized back control of Istanbul for the first time since Erdogan ruled the city as mayor in the 1990s in watershed 2019 polls.

 

That vote also saw the opposition win back the capital Ankara and keep power in the Aegean port city of Izmir.

 

The opposition’s control of Turkey’s three main cities shattered Erdogan’s image of political invincibility and underscored the levels of resentment rising against his dominant rule.

 

The president’s rivals campaigned against perceived corruption and a sweeping political crackdown that followed a failed 2016 coup attempt.

 

Erdogan bounced back last year to win a tough re-election that came in the throes of an economic crisis in which the annual inflation rate topped 85 percent.

 

He has since set his sights on winning back Istanbul – the city where he grew up playing street football and where he launched his political career as a self-proclaimed champion of Turkey’s pious Muslims and the poor.

 

“We say no stopping until March 31, keep going,” Erdogan told cheering supporters during a party congress in Istanbul.

“We stand before our nation with candidates who run for solutions rather than excuses, who act with humility rather than arrogance,” he said.

 

‘Special attention’

Kurum graduated from Konya’s Selcuk University with a degree in civil engineering and served as Erdogan’s environment and urbanisation minister from 2018 until last year, reports the New Arab.

Turkish media reported that the 47-year-old Ankara native came out on top of an internal party poll Erdogan oversaw last month, though in several polls he appears to be losing vs popular Imamoglu.

 

Kurum also worked in Turkey’s housing development administration and became a member of parliament representing one of Istanbul’s districts last year.

 

His wife Sengul, a teacher,  has held a senior position at Turkey’s powerful RTUK media regulator since 2021.

 

Kurum’s background as an urban planner fits with Erdogan’s claims that Istanbul has become run down and dysfunctional under opposition control.

 

 

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