Turks set to vote in local polls
Turkey’s ruling party faces test of support in Sunday’s nationwide local elections.
She said voters are also concerned with issues including if their taxes are being used to improve their lives.
Bulent Keres, a political columnist, said voters are noticing more public services.
“The welfare system is improving, the economy has grown and in comparison with previous governments, they’ve done more with government spending,” Keres said.
But he said a “vacuum in the opposition parties has left the government with more power than they deserve”.
Government ‘tactic’
Commentators say an AKP victory in Sunday’s elections could be the result of Erdogan’s popularity as well as a failure of opposition parties to turn enthusiasm into votes.
The AKP is also attempting to win votes from Kurdish citizens in the country’s southeast, where residents have loyally supported the Kurdish Democratic Society party (DTP).
The government recently launched a Kurdish language TV station – the latest in several policy shifts considered more accommodating to Kurdish rights.
But Akin Birdal Istanbul, a DTP candidate, says the government moves will not sway DTP supporters.
“The Kurdish people know that this is a tactic to get their vote. Up to now, a high price and pain was paid by us in order to gain our rights. So why is the government doing this now?”.