Governorate of Uşak cancels 'Milli İttifak' rally due to Erdoğan's rally

Istanbul, May 25 () - The governorate of the Aegean province of Uşak has cancelled a “Milli İttifak” - a coalition of the Felicity Party (SP) and the Grand unity Party (BBP) - rally due to President Tayyip Erdoğan’s public rally following an opening ceremony the same day.

Milli İttifak applied to the governorate on May 11 to hold an election rally for May 27 and the governorship had declared there was no other rally in the city at that time, SP provincial chairman Yunus Acar said.

But the governorate later informed them their rally on May 27 was cancelled due to Erdoğan’s visit to the province on the same day, Acar said.

When the SP and BBP party leaders decided to apply to the Supreme Election Board (YSK) for the cancellation or Erdoğan’s appearance, Uşak Governor Seddar Yavuz sought to settle the issue by offering to hold the gathering after 5:30 p.m. on May 27, Acar said.

However, at least three to four hours are needed beforehand to make necessary preparations for the rally, so providing the venue at that time would not make possible for those preparations, according to Acar.

In a similar case, the Homeland (Vatan) Party had applied to the Supreme Election Board (YSK) for the cancellation of Erdoğan’s rally in Adana May 29 on the grounds the party was also scheduled to hold a rally the same day.

Erdoğan’s application to hold a public rally in the southern province of Adana on May 29 was rejected by the provincial unit of the YSK in the Seyhan district of Adana, on the grounds that the meeting area had already been reserved for a rally of the Vatan Party the same day.

Vatan Party deputy leader Hasan Korkmazcan told reporters they were the first to apply for a rally in the district. “The area was allocated for our party’s rally. However, the Adana governor’s office applied 15 days later for another rally in the same area,” said Korkmazcan.

The YSK’s Seyhan branch denied the Adana governor’s application for a presidential rally by a majority vote.

“The president should be impartial according to our constitution. The president’s visit to Adana before the elections would cast a shadow on the polls. We will host him in the best possible way if he wishes to visit Adana after the polls,” Adana Mayor Hüseyin Sözlü told reporters May 20.