(MENAFN- Gulf Times) The mayor of Ankara resigned yesterday on the 'orders of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who is seeking to revitalise the ruling party ahead of 2019 elections.
Melih Gokcek, a staunch Erdogan loyalist who had been in charge of the Turkish capital for 23 years, said he was acting in the country's best interests.
'I leave my post of mayor on orders from our leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Gokcek, a member of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), said in a televised speech. 'I bow to the request of Recep Tayyip Erdogan, not because I do not think I have been successful, not because I think I'm tired ... but only because I think (Erdogan) can make our country a leader.
Gokcek's successor has not been named.
Erdogan co-founded the AKP as an Islamic-rooted party that also aimed to modernise the economy and push ahead with Turkey's EU membership bid.
He has repeatedly made clear that the party needs to make 'sweeping changes ahead of the 2019 elections, after it showed signs of weakness at the ballot box.
Erdogan has warned of 'fatigue within the AKP and vowed to revive enthusiasm at the municipal and grass-roots level.
In 2019, local elections will take place months before parliamentary and presidential balloting.
In April, Erdogan declared victory in a referendum on expanding presidential powers, but the official margin of his win was narrower than the AKP expected.
He said in August that 'successful colleagues including MPs, mayors and regional party officials would be able to stay in their jobs but those showing 'tiredness and weariness would have to move on.
Several mayors have since resigned, including Istanbul mayor Kadir Topbas who stepped down last month after 13 years in the key post.
While the AKP has never been defeated at the ballot box since first winning power in 2002, there have been signs its grip on power has grown slightly less tight in recent years.
Separately, the central government has taken control over dozens of Kurdish municipalities in the southeast since last year, accusing the mayors of being linked to terrorism, using the ongoing state of emergency, which allows Erdogan's cabinet to rule by decree.
'Fifty per cent of the population is not governed by the mayor they elected, said Kemal Kilicdaroglu, the chief of the main opposition People's Republican Party (CHP).
'You either remove them with a decree or you threaten them, he said in Istanbul, accusing the government of using blackmail.
Kilicdaroglu has been sharply critical of the state of emergency, warning that the government is eroding democratic norms.
Erdogan has rejected growing calls from his critics for early elections.
He told supporters in the central Konya region that the 2019 date was fixed and would not change, repeatedly telling the crowd: 'What early elections?
Speaking late on Saturday, Erdogan told Kilicdaroglu to 'prepare for the vote.
Gokcek, 69, is known both for his populism and shock claims, such as saying that artificial earthquakes were caused by Turkey's enemies abroad to harm the economy.
He has also described the Internet search engine Google as the largest intelligence agency in the world and said that cleric Fethullah Gulen, who the government blames for last year's coup attempt, controls his followers with genies.
A prolific Twitter user, Gokcek tweeted to his 4mn followers in all capital letters a trademark to announce his resignation after lengthy sessions with Erdogan.
Since the coup attempt last year, some 50,000 people have been jailed on alleged links to putschists, including dozens of journalists.
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