Kemal Kilicdaroglu, 'Turkey must focus on the economy, its real agenda'

With local elections concluded, Turkey must now focus on the economy, which is its real agenda, the leader of the main opposition party said Thursday. “The solution to resolve the [economic] crisis must be the main topic for politicians,” Kemal Kilicdaroglu, leader of the opposition Republican People's Party (CHP), said in a press release. Kilicdaroglu’s remarks came a day after Ekrem Imamoglu, the party’s candidate in last month’s Istanbul elections, officially became mayor of Turkey’s largest city, home to some 16 million people. 

Millions of Turkish voters cast their votes nationwide on March 31 in local elections to choose mayors, city council members, and other officials for the next five years.

Striking a non-partisan tone, Kilicdaroglu stressed that once they take office, the CHP candidates are not the mayors of the party, “but the mayors of that city.”

Despite Imamoglu officially taking office as Istanbul mayor, his election still faces legal challenges from the ruling Justice and Development (AK) party, citing illegalities at the polls.