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Türkiye's Erdogan unveils AK Party's election manifesto

The 23-point manifesto touches upon rebuilding from the February 6 earthquakes, in addition to the economy, defence industry, environment, family, justice, and freedoms.

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Erdogan pledged to rebuild the cities in 11 earthquake-hit provinces, vowing to erase the traces of the earthquakes that resulted in the loss of more than 50,000 lives.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has announced the Justice and Development (AK) Party’s manifesto ahead of the May 14 presidential and parliamentary elections.

Speaking in the capital Ankara on Tuesday, Erdogan, also AK Party’s chairman, unveiled a 23-point election manifesto, which firstly focuses on the steps to heal the wounds of February 6 earthquakes victims in southern Türkiye.

"Every attack, every disaster, every pain we experience, especially the earthquakes of February 6, shows that we need to tighten our unity, protect our unity more, and strengthen our brotherhood even more," Erdogan said.

"We will completely heal the wounds caused by the disaster in 11 provinces and their neighbouring cities by building a total of 650,000 new houses, 319,000 of which will be delivered in one year," he added.

With a "national risk shield model," he added that 81 provinces will be transformed into disaster-resilient cities.

Pledging to grow Türkiye in the upcoming period, Erdogan said: "Türkiye has no choice but to be strong, stay strong, and increase its power in order not to fall back into the pit of political and economic bondage."

Turning to the economy, Erdogan said Türkiye aims to bring inflation down to single digits, adding: "We will increase the welfare level of our employees, from civil servants to retirees and workers, by always increasing their wages above inflation."

Türkiye will continue with investment, production, and exports until reaching the goal of bringing its foreign trade volume to $1 trillion.

'Axis of Türkiye'

Türkiye will continue on its path with stability as "an island of peace and security" at a time when the world and the region are experiencing aggravated challenges, Erdogan said.

"We will build the axis of Türkiye with a foreign policy where both our country, our region and humanity will find peace and stability, multilateralism, more cooperation, peace, stability, and humanitarian diplomacy," he stressed.

He reminded the participants that Türkiye can negotiate with both sides in the Russia-Ukraine war, make concrete progress such as the grain corridor and prisoner exchange, and keep the possibility of peace on the table.

Ankara also strengthens cooperation with the Islamic world without getting permission from anyone, he added.

Touching on the developments in the defence industry, Erdogan said Türkiye has achieved "a status that the world envies in the defence industry in a short time."

"Beyond meeting our own needs, we are advancing towards the top in the defense industry as a country that can export defense industry products to 170 countries, including UAVs, UCAVs, Akincis [Baykar's high-altitude UCAVs], land vehicles, and naval platforms," he added.

The president also said Türkiye's power will be increased in the areas of energy, agriculture, education, and transportation.

"Hopefully, on May 14, we will start the dawn of the Century of Türkiye together. We will build peace, brotherhood, trust, cities, life, and happiness together," he said.

SOURCE: AA