Why are the mayors being replaced?

The president called for some mayors to resign, a decision was taken at his own party group, the resisting mayors were oppressed and told, “It would be bad if you do not resign.” Apparently, this was an extremely urgent and vital operation for Erdogan. …So where does the urgency to make a change that will happen spontaneously after a year come from, and what is its expected function? The answer relates to how the party wants to use the next year. It should not be forgotten that Turkey will see local elections in March 2019 and the outcome will directly affect the November 2019 general and presidential elections. Thus, local elections will be campaigned for on the basis of how far people’s daily lives can be improved. This would mean that the general election would be held in an atmosphere favorable to the AK Party and that no candidates could compete against Erdogan in the presidential election ...