CHP leader calls on Istanbul electorate to “correct injustice” against İmamoğlu

ANKARA

Main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu appealed to voters of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), stressing that the president of the country does not remain impartial despite his constitutional obligations.

“Since we live together, our views may be different, but we all want to live in peace. A president should be impartial, because the president is the state’s insurance,” he said addressing a CHP meeting at the Turkish Parliament on May 28.

“He is the representative of all those who lives on these lands. The state serves all citizens. Every citizen is equal before the law,” Kılıçdaroğlu said, referring to President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.

“Does a president intervene into the mayoral elections 24 hours a day? Will a president run the state or the municipality?” he asked. He also criticized President Erdoğan of being “lavish.”

He underscored that the voters of Istanbul can correct the “injustice” that the CHP candidate Ekrem İmamoğlu faced due to the High Election Board’s decision to annul the March 31 election results for Istanbul Municipality.

“No matter which party we choose, we have to respect everyone who is elected,” Kılıçdaroğlu added.

The results of the March Istanbul vote were canceled after the AKP and its coalition partner, Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), appealed, citing irregularities and contradictions with the country’s election law.     

The mayoral certificate of İmamoğlu was revoked by the YSK on May 6.  According to the YSK, the decision was based on appeals that ineligible officers and polling staffs, who are supposed to be civil servants per Turkish law, served during the elections.