Erdoğan’s rallying belittles Davutoğlu: CHP head

Şükrü Küçükşahin - ANKARA

AFP photo

If President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan holds public rallies in the run-up to the Nov. 1 election, it would “insult” Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu, insinuating “incompetence” in Davutoğlu’s campaign for his ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, leader of the Republican People’s Party (CHP), has said.

“If Erdoğan takes to rallies again, this would be a direct insult to Ahmet Davutoğlu. It would amount to not considering him [Davutoğlu] as a person and a politician. The president will have said, ‘You are incompetent.’ And he would have put himself in the place of Davutoğlu. This would be unfair for Davutoğlu in the first place,” the CHP leader said.

The CHP is incensed Erdoğan did not hand it the mandate, hence a chance to form a coalition government, after the failure of talks with the AKP, accusing him of violating the constitution.

But Erdoğan has snapped back, saying he could not meet Kılıçdaroğlu because the CHP leader refused to set foot in his gigantic presidential palace that opened last year amidst huge controversy.

In a speech delivered on Aug. 26, President Erdoğan justified his position, asking “which mandate was he supposed to give to those who made all kinds of insults to his office?”

Erdoğan, who held public rallies on various occasions before the June 7 election, has also given clear messages signaling that he would continue to attend and speak at opening ceremonies of various public facilities, despite harsh criticism from opposition parties. 

Kılıçdaroğlu, meanwhile, said his decision for not taking Erdoğan as a counterpart was valid even if he holds rallies before the snap election.

“I will not consider him a counterpart, even if he [Erdoğan] speaks out against me and the CHP. I leave him to the insight of the nation,” Kılıçdaroğlu said.