Tense atmosphere dominates AKP's general congress in Istanbul
Güncelleme Tarihi:
ISTANBUL - A tense atmosphere dominated the third general congress of the Justice and Development Party, or AKP, in Istanbul on Saturday, as scuffles broke out between supporters of rival candidates for the party’s provincial chairman. The voting returned Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan's candidate, Aziz Babuscu.
Tensions were high ahead of the voting at the AKP Istanbul Congress, in which two names were put forward for the post of provincial chairman for the first time, as uproar erupted after supporters of rival candidate, Metin Kulunk, were kept out of the meeting hall.
Scuffles broke out throughout the meeting between groups of Kulunk supporters who managed to make their way into the meeting hall, and backers of AKP’s
Babascu was interrupted with hisses and jeers from the crowd as he made the opening speech, before he introduced Erdogan, who thanked the party’s
Erdogan gave his clear support to Babuscu during his speech ahead of the voting in which the AKP-backed candidate was reelected with 463 of the 620 votes cast. Kulunk received just 157 votes.