Erdogan: "The CHP mayoral candidate doesn't know today's Istanbul"

Speaking at his Justice and Development Party's (AK Party) parliamentary group meeting yesterday, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan charged that main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) Istanbul mayoral candidate Kemal Kilicdaroglu knows little about the city today. Referring to Kilicdaroglu's claims that the suburbs have suffered greatly under current AK Party Greater Municipality Mayor Kadir Topbas, Erdogan said, "Kilicdaroglu is 16 years behind developments in Istanbul. No suburb in Istanbul is suffering the problems Kilicdaroglu mentioned." Erdogan said that under AK Party rule, those suburbs have shown modern urban development. Topbas was an advisor to Erdogan when he was Istanbul mayor in 1994-98. He was elected mayor of Istanbul's Beyoglu district in 1999, and became Istanbul greater municipality mayor in 2004. Kilicdaroglu, a two-term deputy for Istanbul, has worked as a state auditor and high-level Finance Ministry official. He also served as undersecretary at the Labor and Social Security Ministry and headed two important state social security institutions (SSK and Bağ-Kur).