ISTANBUL POLITICS: AKP CONSOLIDATES CONTROL

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 ISTANBUL 001837

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/08/2014
TAGS: PGOV TU
SUBJECT: ISTANBUL POLITICS: AKP CONSOLIDATES CONTROL

REF: A. ISTANBUL 448


B. ANKARA 1847

Classified By: Consul-General David Arnett for Reasons 1.5 (b&d)


1. (sbu) Summary: Following dominatig victories in the arch
28 local elections, Justice and Development Party (AKP)
officials in Istanbul have sought to furthr consolidate
power by attracting converts from ther parties and have
transferred key assets fro the few remaining non-AKP
districts to areas uner thir conrol. The adersely
affected mayors, ho alo compain tht the AKP-controlled
greate municipality routinely discriminates against themin
allocating investment for municipal projects,have challenged
some of the new measures in cour. Although tense relations
between the city and hese districts will make life dfficult
fo the andful of non-AKP mayors, mostenjoystrong
political and economic support from teir relatively wealthy
and educated constituents. End Summary.


2. (sbu) The Justice and Development Party (AKP) racked up an
impressive list of victories in the March 28 local elections
in Istanbul, taking approximately 45 percent of the total
vote, winning the Istanbul mayorship, 69 percent of the seats
on the Istanbul city council, and 24 of Istanbul's 32
district mayorships. The rare holdouts were Istanbul's
wealthiest districts (Bakirkoy, Besiktas, Sisli, Kadikoy, and
Avcilar),where majorities of the better educated and more
secular populations elected Republican People's Party (CHP)
mayors, while popular incumbent Motherland Party (ANAP)
mayors managed to hold on in the Prince's Islands and
Buyukcekmece (both relatively affluent summer resort areas,
although Buyukcekmece now borders Istanbul's urban sprawl),
as well as Catalca (rural, agriculture-intensive). Since the
elections, however, the ANAP district mayors for both the
Prince's Islands and Catalca have abandoned their party and
joined AKP. (Note: The chairman of the CHP city council
group, who was at the iftar dinner attended by PM Erdogan and
hosted by Istanbul Mayor Topbas where one of the mayors
publicly switched parties, remarked to poloff that he thought
it insulting and inappropriate to conduct this ceremony in
the presence of local CHP and ANAP officials. End Note).


3. (sbu) Local mayors have complained to poloff that the
AKP-controlled Istanbul city council has taken steps to
consolidate the party's power at the expense of local mayors
from other parties. In Bakirkoy, the Istanbul city council
has long eyed the profitable Hippodrome, or race track.
Years earlier, measures were passed to ensure that taxes from
off-track betting (there are hundreds of venues around the
city) remain in the district where the bets are placed. This
year the city council passed a new measure expropriating 80
percent of the race track's monthly USD 2 million on-site
taxes to be distributed to other districts and the greater
municipality. With the Hippodrome accounting for 35 percent
of Bakirkoy's total revenue, Unal Erzen, the CHP Bakirkoy
district mayor, worries that he may have trouble making ends
meet. AKP Istanbul Chairman Mehmet Muezzinoglu told poloff
that the Hippodrome belongs to all of Istanbul and that the
city council would have followed through with these plans
even if they also controlled Bakirkoy. Erzen also complained
that Bakirkoy is routinely overlooked by the Greater
Municipality when it comes to large investments in
transportation and infrastructure. (Note: As one of the
wealthier districts in Istanbul, Bakirkoy has enjoyed major
investments in past years and faces few of the endemic
problems of other, poorer districts. End Note).


4. (sbu) ANAP Buyukcekmece district mayor Hasan Akgun had
similar complaints. A significant portion of this district's
revenue comes from taxes paid by businesses in the district's
industrial area, one of the largest in Istanbul. Several
weeks ago, AKP used its majority in the Istanbul city council
to separate the Buyukcekmece industrial area from that
district and attach it instead to a neighboring region
controlled by an AKP official. Akgun has challenged the
measure in court and trials are ongoing. AKP Istanbul
Chairman Muezzinoglu conceded that Akgun is "10 percent
right" in his claims, but argued that the redistricting was
part of a much larger effort to redraw local borders in a
more rational manner. Asked whether Buykcekmece continues to
get a fair share of investment from the Istanbul Greater
Municipality for public works projects, Akgun claimed that he
has gotten "nothing." CHP Besiktas district mayor Ismail
Unal, meanwhile, told poloff that relations with Istanbul
Mayor Topbas are pleasant "face-to-face," but that they get
no real cooperation or follow-up outside of these meetings.


5. (c) Comment: While AKP has clearly used its dominating
position in the Istanbul city council to consolidate its
control in Istanbul, it is unclear whether this is anything
more than "politics as usual." We have also heard many
(unconfirmed) rumors about local corruption going all the way
to the highest levels in the AKP in Istanbul. Some early
assessments of Istanbul Mayor Kadir Topbas suggest that he is
relatively ineffective; many of our contacts have suggested
that real power lies instead with Vice Mayor Idris Gulluce
and AKP Istanbul Chairman Muezzinoglu. In the end, whether
or not AKP is guilty of corruption or dirty politics, they
will enjoy their dominating position in local politics for
several years, but if they fail to deliver on people's
expectations there will be nobody else to blame when voters
go back to the polls in 2009.
ARNETT