March 31 polls seen as test for Turkish leader and his AKP amid economic downturn triggered by 2018 currency crisis.
Millions of Turkish voters are preparing to elect mayors and local officials on March 31 in a race seen as a new test for President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s ruling party in the wake of last year’s currency crisis.
Campaigning in Istanbul visibly picked up mere weeks before the polls, with political discussions intensifying in the country’s largest city.
Political parties are making their last efforts to appeal to voters, raising national and local matters during the election canvassing on the squares and streets of the economic capital of Turkey.
In addition to city and district mayors, the more than 57 million registered voters are expected to pick members of district councils and neighbourhood heads, or mukhtars, in the elections – the seventh one in five years.
Erdogan’s Justice and Development (AK) Party has joined hands with its ally in the previous two polls, the far-right Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), in a bloc known as the People’s Alliance.
The Nation’s Alliance, made up of centre-left main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) and right-wing Good (IYI) Party, is the main challenger to Erdogan’s bloc.
Both alliances have come up with dozens of joint mayoral candidates in the 81 provinces of Turkey.
Istanbul and the capital, Ankara are particularly seen as the most intense battle arenas between the two alliances.
Al Jazeera examines the main issues dominating the political agenda ahead of the critical polls.
The Turkish economy, which slipped into its first recession in a decade, has topped the election agenda so far.
The economy has been hit hard since the Turkish lira plummeted against the US dollar last year, losing as much as 40 percent of its value amid macroeconomic and structural worries, investor concerns over the independence of the Central Bank, and a diplomatic spat with the US.
Although the government’s move to increase interest rates helped the currency regain some of its value, it also caused a massive decline in bank loans as well as business confidence.
The depreciating currency has put pressure on businesses hit by foreign currency-nominated debt, while high inflation has decreased citizens’ purchasing power, curbing consumer spending.
Turkish GDP per capita fell to $9,632 in 2018 from $10,597 in 2017 in nominal prices due to the lira crash.
