Istanbul mayor to run again despite protests

The mayor of Istanbul, the target of protester anger during June's mass anti-government street demonstrations, will be running for office again next year, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Thursday. Kadir Topbas, a member of Erdogan's ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), has been nominated to stand for a third term in Turkey's municipal elections next March. "Istanbul is very important for us," Erdogan, himself a former mayor of Turkey's biggest city, said at an AKP meeting. Topbas, a 68-year-old architect, was first elected to the post in 2004. The March elections are seen as a key test for Erdogan, his image badly bruised by the nationwide protests that erupted in June against his rule. The demonstrations were sparked by a police crackdown on a peaceful sit-in to save an Istanbul park from being razed to make way for a development project. Topbas angered protesters when he said the plans for Gezi Park would go ahead despite the vehement public opposition. Topbas has also come under fire for giving the green light to Erdogan's mega construction projects for the bustling metropolis of 16 million people, which include a third airport and a third bridge across the Bosphorus. At least six people died and 8,000 people were hurt in three weeks of demonstrations in June. Nevertheless, latest opinion polls say the AKP, which has won three parliamentary elections in a row, is likely to emerge the clear winner in the municipal polls and a legislative election in 2015.