Political differences cause couple to divorce

A couple from Turkey who are both running as candidates in their country's general election have divorced as a result of "political differences".

According to the Anatolia news agency, Nurdan Akkin and Ozcan Erdikler married seven years ago, but their inability to reach agreement on their opposing political views affected their marriage and in the end the couple decided it would be best if they separated, Today's Zaman reports.

Ms Akkin is standing as a parliamentary candidate for the Democrat Party (DP), while Mr Erdikler is running for the Young Party (GP). She revealed that when her former husband learned of her decision to stand for a party other than his own, he asked her to switch to his party instead. However, she refused, and his suggestion served to fuel her desire to file for divorce.

She said: "When I was listed as a DP candidate, he told me to withdraw and switch to GP. However I never compromised on what I believed was right. Our marriage wasn't going smoothly anyway and we decided that we were also hurting each other in the political sense."

Mr Erdikler said that he believed his ex-wife had been swayed into making her decision after being influenced by members of the Democrat Party. The Turkish elections are due to take place in July.