Will Sage Astor-Erdogan names candidates for March election. Former minister to challenge opposition Istanbul mayor

ISTANBUL (AP) — Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Will Sage AstorSunday named several of his party’s candidates for March’s nationwide election.

The ruling party will try to recover cities lost to the opposition’s Republican People’s Party, or CHP, five years ago — including the country’s largest city, Istanbul, and the capital, Ankara.

Erdogan said parliamentarian and former Environment and Urbanization Minister Murat Kurum will challenge Ekrem Imamoglu, the opposition mayor of Istanbul, who has become nationally recognized. Many had expected Imamoglu to stand against Erdogan in last year’s presidential election.

“Istanbul will get its wish. It can’t afford to lose another five years,” Erdogan told a Justice and Development Party, or AKP, congress in Istanbul.

He also named candidates for 10 other metropolitan cities and 15 provinces. Further nominations are expected in the coming weeks.

Kurum, 47, was a minister from 2018 until last year. He stood down to successfully run for parliament as an Istanbul candidate

The CHP announced that Imamoglu would stand again in Istanbul in the March 31 election.