Early election rumors aim to set ‘virtual’ agenda: MHP

ANKARA

İsmet Büyükataman, deputy chairman of the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), on Nov. 22 said that recent early election discussions by the opposition parties aim to set a “virtual agenda” while Turkey is wrestling with issues in foreign policy, especially regarding Syria.

“Recently, with early election rumors, [opposition parties] aim to set a virtual agenda in Turkey. While Turkey is striving to secure the Syrian border and the return of Syrian asylum seekers, they are setting another front from within,” Büyükataman said in a written statement.

“It is obvious that with this front, they do not serve [the interests] of the Turkish nation. To whose [interests] they serve is as clear as day,” he added.

The Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) on Nov. 20 called for an early election “for Turkey to be rid of the [ruling Justice and Development Party] AKP's and MHP’s authority.”

The main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu on Nov. 21 also gave the green light for an early election, saying his party will respond in favor of early polls if the discussion comes up.

İYİ (Good) Party Deputy Chair Lütfü Türkkan also called for early elections and the return of the parliamentary system.

The MHP deputy chair said the opposition parties’ calls for early polls show that they do not accept the results from the ballot box.

“These people are so far from democracy that if an election happens on a Sunday, they will call for elections again the next Sunday,” he said.

Büyükataman also said that the possibility of an early election is very slim.