Campaigning in Manisa, Erdogan vows to continue serving the people

Campaigning in the Aegean province of Manisa for local elections late this month, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan yesterday told a crowd of thousands, "We set out to serve the people, and our service will continue as long as the people continue to support us." Stressing that his Justice and Development Party's (AK Party) approach to politics is service and human oriented, Erdogan said, "We don't have an Ankara-centric mode of governance and politics. The people chose us to serve them, not to cause fruitless political debates and tensions." Criticizing opposition parties for "smear campaigns" and efforts to raise tension, Erdogan said that Turkey shouldn't waste its time and energy on such tactics. "In cooperation with some media outlets, opposition parties are campaigning for local elections based on smears to discredit the AK Party, but the people don't believe those smears." Later attending a ribbon-cutting ceremony for houses built by the Prime Ministry Housing Development Administration (TOKI), Erdogan touted government efforts to provide affordable housing to low-income people.