Erdoğan-ally says 'Turkey's enemies' want early elections

MHP leader Devlet Bahçeli has said that Turkey's enemies want early elections, as he listed opposition parties alongside the PKK and the Gülen movement. "The elections will be held in June 2023," he said.

Tuesday June 15 2021 03:32 pm

Duvar English

Far-right Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) leader Devlet Bahçeli has said that Turkey's enemies want early elections, adding that there is "political stability" in the country.

Bahçeli, the alliance partner of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), said that the opposition's calls for early elections are futile.

"There are two ways that an early election decision can be adopted. Either parliament or Mr. President decides this," Bahçeli told MHP members during a parliamentary group meeting on June 15.

Bahçeli then went onto slam the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP), Good (İYİ) Party and the Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) for "having a secret agenda."

"To whom the CHP is giving messages? Whose attention are they after? What's the secret purpose of those who call for early elections? How can this insistence be interpreted?" he asked.

According to the MHP leader, the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) and the movement of U.S.-based Islamic preacher Fethullah Gülen are "also expecting early elections" and they back CHP leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu's demand.

"Enemies of Turkey have united around early elections," he said, claiming that the CHP, İYİ Party and the HDP seek crisis in Turkey.

The CHP, according to the far-right leader, has become a "security risk" and "the source of tensions" in Turkey.

"The elections will be held in June 2023," Bahçeli said, as he also slammed the opposition's calls to return to a parliamentary system.

Topics MHP leader Devlet Bahçeli Turkish government Turkey Elections CHP leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu