Turkey’s main opposition CHP leader calls for early election

Turkey’s main opposition CHP leader Özgür Özel has called for an early election, saying people cannot make ends meet due to the current economic conditions.

Wednesday August 28 2024 11:29 pm

Duvar English

Turkey’s main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) leader Özgür Özel on Aug. 27 called for an early election.

During his visit to Balıkesir’s Edremit district, Özel said the government “has no capacity to solve the problems,” and “since they do not solve problems, they try to create crises.”

“They need a crisis, a fight. Because they will say to the poor and unemployed ‘you are hungry, poor, unemployed, insecure, but the danger is great, you must vote for us one more time.’ There is no such cheap politics anymore,” Özel said.

Özel said people cannot make ends meet in these economic conditions.

“If there are no bread and butter, there are elections. As CHP, we are ready. Bring the ballot box. CHP is the leading party in Turkey. There is a remedy for every problem, and its name is the Republican People's Party,” he added.

The CHP became the leading party in the March 31st local elections, marking the first time that the ruling AKP could not clinch the first position in an election since its foundation in 2001.

The state-run Turkish Statistical Institute (TÜİK) reported annual inflation at 61.78 percent for July, whereas independent inflation research group ENAG put the figure at 100.88 percent.