Political parties submit deputy candidate lists to election board

Political parties submitted their parliamentary candidate lists for May 14 polls to the Supreme Election Board (YSK) on April 9.

Since the Justice and Development Party (AKP) applied the rule of three terms, 70 percent of its deputies, who took office in the 27th Term, are being replaced. Culture and Tourism Minister Mehmet Nuri Ersoy and Health Minister Fahrettin Koca were not included in the AKP's list.

Following an earlier announcement that the ministers in the cabinet will be candidates for parliament, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan nominated the prominent figures of the ruling party and the current ministers in Anatolian provinces and metropolitan cities.

Deputy President Fuat Oktay and Labor and Social Security Minister Vedat Bilgin are nominated from Ankara, Environment, Urbanization, and Climate Change Minister Murat Kurum, Interior Minister Süleyman Soylu from Istanbul, Trade Minister Mehmet Muş from Samsun.

Defense Minister Hulusi Akar is nominated from Kayseri, Energy and Natural Resources Minister Fatih Dönmez from Eskişehir, Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu from Antalya, Justice Minister Bekir Bozdağ from Şanlıurfa, Treasury and Finance Minister Nureddin Nebati from Mersin and Education Minister Mahmut Özer from Ordu.

The AKP nominated Tuğrul Türkeş, the son of the National Movement Party (MHP) founder Alparslan Türkeş, from Ankara, and Sevan Sıvacıoğlu (representing minorities) from Istanbul.

A total of 57 members of the AKP stuck to the three-term rule and could not be nominated, including Parliament Speaker Mustafa Şentop, AKP Deputy Chairman Binali Yıldırım, AKP Group Chair İsmet Yılmaz, AKP's Group Deputy Chairmen Bülent Turan, Mustafa Elitaş and Yılmaz Tunç and AKP Deputy Chairman Hayati Yazıcı.

Continue reading on: