US embassy cable - 04ISTANBUL1837

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, Istanbul 
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