Erdoğan: 1.7 million people attend rally

ISTANBUL

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said that 1,700,000 people attended the great Istanbul rally of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) on May 7.

“We have loved Istanbul since birth. Istanbul is not just a city of its own borders and people living there; Istanbul is also Türikye. It is the city of our brothers from the Balkans to the Caucasus. If we are asked where you want to live between the earth and the sky, the answer we will give is always Istanbul,” the president said, addressing the rally.

Erdoğan pledged “not only to add the inflation difference to the salaries of our civil servants in July but also to increase the welfare share.”

”On May 9, I hope to announce to the public the results of the talks our minister is currently holding with the unions,” he said.

The foreign circles “felt uncomfortable with every achievement of Türkiye, and they did not even hesitate to say it openly,” Erdoğan said without further elaborating on the details.

“We always speak our word to our nation. We do the race for work and service not with the opposition but with ourselves,” he said.

Erdoğan emphasized that his government has brought works and services to Türkiye in 21 years and tripled the national income.

“We provided jobs and food to 21 million [people]. We built 13.5 million new houses and reunited our families with a new home. We have increased the quality of life of our nation with the schools, hospitals and tunnels we opened,” he stated.

“We have a lot to do. Of course, there are problems too,” he said but added that the country has achieved a lot.

“But first, we need to see where we came from. Think of a governor, he has to overcome obstacle after obstacle since the day he took office. What did they do to keep us from serving this city? By integrating this city with its infrastructure and superstructure riches, we have made it a city that is looked upon with envy,” Erdoğan said.

We will build ‘Century of Türkiye’: Erdoğan

The AKP owes its “success” to the efforts and sincerity of all the people who have not withheld their support for the past 21 years, Erdoğan said on May 7 in a social media post.

“Since taking on the responsibility of leading the country in 2002, we have been working tirelessly with the ambition of a ‘great and powerful Türkiye,’” he said.

“We will build the ‘Century of Türkiye’ together with our nation, shoulder to shoulder,” the president emphasized.

If there is a Türkiye that does not crush its pensioners, workers and civil servants despite the earthquake disaster, despite the inflation, everyone has a share in it, he said.

“If today we export $255 billion instead of $36 billion annually, if we have undertaken the largest transportation, defense, technology, energy, health, housing and environmental projects in our history, it is due to the efforts of every citizen, every province, every industrialist, worker, farmer, merchant, housewife and civil servant who has worked hard for this success,” he said.

He also noted that this success is also due to the contributions of their partners in the People’s Alliance, as well as the efforts of all citizens, who prioritize their country first, regardless of their political views, sect, or background.

“From May 14 onward, we will add new links to this 21-year success chain, and together with our people, we will build the ‘Century of Türkiye,’” he said.