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Istanbul Mayor to Run again despite Protests
[An Nahar] The mayor of Istanbul, the target of protester anger during June's mass anti-government street demonstrations, will be running for office again next year, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Thursday.Kadir Topbas, a member of Erdogan's ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), has been nominated to stand for a third term in Turkey's municipal elections next March. "Istanbul is very important for us," Erdogan, himself a former mayor of Turkey's biggest city, said at an AKP meeting. Topbas, a 68-year-old architect, was first elected to the post in 2004. The March elections are seen as a key test for Erdogan, his image badly bruised by the nationwide protests that erupted in June against his rule. The demonstrations were sparked by a police crackdown on a peaceful sit-in to save an Istanbul park from being razed to make way for a development project. Topbas angered protesters when he said the plans for Gezi Park would go ahead despite the vehement public opposition. Posted by: Fred 2013-12-06 |
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