The two candidates for the Turkish presidency began their electoral campaigns in preparation for the second round, which is scheduled to take place on the 28th of this month. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that he intends to visit some areas of the earthquake at the end of this week, criticizing some for insulting the afflicted due to the results of the elections in those areas.
The Turkish president – who is running for the Public Alliance for the presidential elections – held a series of meetings with the leaders of his electoral alliance, led by the leader of the Nationalist Movement Party, Devlet Bahceli, whose party came fourth in the parliamentary elections.
Erdogan also met again with the head of the Welfare Party, Fatih Erbakan, the head of the Kurdish Hoda Party, Zakaria Yabiji Oglu, and the head of the Democratic Left Party, Ondar Aksakal.
On the other hand, the People’s Alliance candidate, Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, held a meeting with the mayors of Ankara, Mansur Yavaş, and Istanbul, Akram Imamoğlu, after a series of resignations and dismissals among those responsible for his election campaign.
For his part, Ismail Saimas, a journalist close to the opposition, said that Kilicdaroglu sacked Akan Abdullah and Ali Kirimchioglu, who were running his election campaign.
In turn, Anorsal Adiguzal, Vice Chairman of the Information and Communications Technology Board of the Republican People’s Party – which is led by presidential candidate Kamal Kılıçdaroğlu – announced his resignation from his post.
Adiguzal said – in a tweet on Twitter – that I will resign from my duty that I have been doing since 2018, in order not to harm the electoral process.
Visit earthquake zones
In a related context, Erdogan said that he intends to visit some areas of the earthquake at the end of this week, criticizing some for insulting the afflicted against the background of the election results in those areas.
Erdogan expressed – during his participation in a joint broadcast of two local television channels – his thanks to all citizens who expressed their national will in the polls with a record participation rate, and affirmed his gratitude to every citizen who cast his vote, regardless of the party that voted for him.
He pointed out that some people are doing a lot of harm to those affected by the earthquake during this period (after the Public Alliance, led by the Justice and Development Party, topped the election results in the earthquake-hit areas). He emphasized that insulting the people affected by the earthquake (against the background of the election results) is a very wrong and ugly act.
He pointed out that some people from among the opposition utter phrases such as “we will not provide them (the afflicted) with support and assistance again,” because they did not get the percentage of votes they expected in those areas.
Erdogan also confirmed the continuation of the struggle against the PKK organization inside and outside the country until the last “terrorist” is eliminated.
In a tweet on Twitter, the Turkish President had mercy on the three martyrs of the Turkish Gendarmerie forces during their clash with the “PKK” terrorists in the Bestler Derere area of Sirnak Province (southeast Turkey).
After offering condolences to the families of the martyrs and the Turkish people, Erdogan stressed their determination to combat terrorists and their extensions inside and outside the country.
targeting youth
On the other hand, the opposition candidate in the Turkish presidential elections, Kilicdaroglu, said that the demand for change is the biggest reality that resulted from the ballot box.
Kilicdaroglu added – in a series of tweets – that those who demand change in Turkey have become more than those who reject it. Stressing the need to work intensively during the period leading up to the second round of elections.
Kilicdaroglu called on the Turkish youth to think carefully about the country’s current situation, saying that he understood their message and would work to dispel what he described as their fears.