Turkish ruling party-led alliance holds mega-rally in Istanbul

By Sorwar Alam

ANKARA (AA) - With just one week until Turkey faces critical local polls, Turkey’s ruling Justice and Development (AK) Party and its election ally the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) held a mega-rally in Istanbul on Sunday, drawing some 1.6 million supporters.

The rally was headlined by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, also the head of the ruling party, along with MHP leader Devlet Bahceli and Binali Yildirim, the AK Party’s Istanbul mayoral candidate.

The massive rally in Yenikapi Square, spanning some 270,000 square meters, featured a huge platform, large speakers, and mega-screens so all the spectators could see the stage.

With the clock ticking down to March 31, Election Day, Turkey is seeing daily campaign rallies and speeches by candidates and political leaders.

Twelve political parties are set to compete in the local polls.