MHP leader urges Erdoğan to continue after 'finale' remarks

ANKARA

Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) leader Devlet Bahçeli has made a public call for President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan to continue his political journey, countering recent remarks by the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) leader suggesting that upcoming elections would mark the "finale" for his career.

Bahçeli's plea to Erdoğan came during the MHP's 14th ordinary congress held in Ankara on March 17, where Bahçeli himself secured his position for the 11th consecutive time, running unopposed.

"I call out to our president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan from here: You cannot leave, you cannot leave the Turkish nation alone," Bahçeli told a gathering of over 1,300 delegates at a gymnasium in the capital. "We want to see you as the savior leader of the new century."

MHP's congress and Bahçeli's remarks precede the upcoming local elections scheduled for March 31.

The event saw deputy party leader Semih Yalçın deliver the opening speech. Subsequently, Mevlüt Karakaya was unanimously elected as the congress' council chairman, following a suggestion put forth by the delegates.

Key votes were made during the congress, including the election of a central executive board comprising 75 members and a central disciplinary board of nine members.

The party concluded a series of district and provincial congresses ahead of the main event, with the final phase completed on Nov. 18 last year.

Representatives from allied parties, including Mustafa Elitaş, Ömer Çelik, Belgin Uygur from the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), and Bülent İspir from the Great Unity Party (BBP), attended the gathering. Ayfer Yılmaz, the general secretary of the İYİ (Good) Party, represented the opposition.

In his address, Bahçeli launched a critique against the opposition.

"The evil mob, which plundered the 100-year-old heritage of the Turkish Republic, is dying to defeat our nation," he stated. "They are queuing up and seeking to break the Turkish nation's determination for resurrection."

To clarify what Bahçeli said about Erdoğan’s mandate, MHP deputy leader Feti Yıldız recalled that the parliament can take a decision for the renewal of the polls so that Erdoğan can run for another term as the president, in an interview with private broadcaster NTV on March 17.

“According to the new system, the parliament can decide to renew the elections, not early elections. This is what our chairman pointed out. Our president can run in the 2028 elections upon the parliament’s decision,” Yıldız said.

“When the parliament takes the decision [of renewing the polls], both the president and the parliament can continue to function until the elections,” he argued.