Erdoğan warns his supporters of losing election, says 'let's not have an accident'

During a rally, Turkish President Erdoğan has warned his supporters of a possible election loss and said “Let's not have an accident on Sunday (May 14).” Otherwise, Erdoğan added, “the imperialists counting the days to do to us what they did to Syria.”

Wednesday May 10 2023 10:42 pm

A banner from the Mardin rally, which reads a poem for Erdoğan in Turkish and Kurdish languages

Duvar English

Turkish President and Justice and Development Party (AKP) leader Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, who is running for the office for the third time, held an election rally in the southeastern Mardin province on May 10.

Erdoğan asked his supporters to convince undecided voters of their family members and warned them of a possible election loss.

“If any of your relatives, spouses and friends are still undecided until the election day, you will convince them (to vote for us) and take them to the ballot box. Let's not have an accident on Sunday (May 14). Otherwise, the terrorist organizations and the interest (lobbies) are all waiting. You see the imperialists counting the days to do to us what they did to Syria,” Erdoğan said during the rally.

Erdoğan once again accused the main opposition for having links with the terrorists. “Those who have ties to terrorism have no ties to our nation. Those who have an alliance with terrorism cannot have an alliance with the nation. We will not let this Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) and its supporters (the main opposition) divide our country.”

“For them (the opposition), the most acceptable Turk is the one who serves their own ambitions. The most acceptable Kurd is the one who is a slave to them. The most acceptable Arab is the one who gives all his resources to them,” Erdoğan argued.

Erdoğan also said “We closely follow the volatility caused by the fluctuations in the economy (in Turkey), especially in food and rent prices. We are looking for the solution of these in our country's own resources, not begging for loans from London like Bye Bye Kemal (Kılıçdaroğlu).”

After Erdoğan called the main opposition bloc Nation Alliance’s presidential candidate and Republican People’s Party (CHP) leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu as “Bay Kemal” (“Mr. Kemal” in English), Kılıçdaroğlu also started to call himself "Bay Kemal." In response, Erdoğan, on several occasions, has used the “Bye Bye Kemal” nickname for Kılıçdaroğlu.

“What is the coalition table (main opposition) doing? It promises to release members of terrorist organizations from prisons. It promises to employ the supporters of the terrorist organization, which we expelled, to the state. Worse, it promises to leave our children in the clutches of LGBT perverts. Can LGBT infiltrate the AKP, the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), or the People's Alliance?,” he added.

Turkey will hold parliamentary and presidential elections on May 14. Some polls suggested that Kılıçdaroğlu might beat his rival President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan amid non-stoppable inflation and deteriorating economic crisis.