Fresh Faces in June 12 General Elections in Turkey

Turkish voters looking for fresh faces in the June 12 general elections will find plenty on the ballot, with both the ruling party and the main opposition overhauling their candidate lists. Many current deputies will not run again as both parties seek to win new voters and boost their representation in Parliament

The stage was set late Monday for a dramatic transformation of the Turkish Parliament following the June 12 general elections, with both the ruling party and main opposition filling their candidate lists with new faces.

Current deputies made up fewer than half of the candidates on the list the ruling Justice and Development Party, or AKP, submitted late Monday to the country’s election board.

Many key party figures kept their positions, however, with a number of ministers moving to the coastal regions, where support for the party is weak, in a bid to solidify the AKP’s clout in the post-election period.

Making a clean break with the past, Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu put his stamp on the Republican People’s Party, or CHP’s, 435-candidate list, leaving off 78 current deputies as he seeks to redefine and reposition the main opposition. Though former party leader Deniz Baykal made the list approved by the party’s Central Executive Board, loyalists to one-time “kingmaker” Önder Sav were left out. The CHP also gave spots to three suspects in the ongoing Ergenekon case, including journalist Mustafa Balbay.

The Nationalist Movement Party, or MHP, meanwhile reportedly nominated some key figures from the center-right to try and win support from new voters.

April 11, 2011
SOURCE: Hürriyet Daily News