Turkey's ruling AKP trying to undermine HDP, says main opposition head

“The AKP is engaged in a special effort to stop the HDP passing the threshold,” Kılıçdaroğlu said May 27, on his way from an election rally in the Central Anatolian province of Konya to the western province of Denizli for another rally. 

He also said he thought the HDP would have no problem passing the threshold, as almost all polls show it will receive enough votes to do so. 

Kılıçdaroğlu again emphasized concerns over ballot box security during the upcoming vote. 

“We have educated our party organization and we encourage it to support civil society initiatives on the issue. We will be more present at ballot boxes. We are working seriously on the security issue,” he said, adding that all political parties are responsible for looking after ballot boxes. 

The CHP head said there is “no longer law or democracy in Turkey.” 

“We all fear [the election security.] Why? Because the judiciary has become the backyard of the ruling political authority. Confidence in the judiciary has been lost. There is no longer democracy or rule of law. We are simply trying to win back those things with our own efforts,” Kılıçdaroğlu said. 

Speaking on May 27, the anniversary of the 1960 coup d’etat that toppled the government of Prime Minister Adnan Menderes, and led to the execution of Menderes, Foreign Affairs Minister Fatin Rüştü Zorlu and Finance Minister Hasan Polatkan, Kılıçdaroğlu said they had always been against political death sentences. 

“We are against political executions. The government does not know the reality on this issue. He who defames cannot hold a political understanding,” he said.  

Kılıçdaroğlu also criticized the state broadcaster TRT for taking “all citizens’ taxes but serving only the benefits of the government,” referring to the fact that TRT is largely funded by Turkish citizens via money taken from their electricity bills.

“We do not find it right and we do not accept a media organ that is the trumpet of the government,” he said. 

Answering a question on how he would work with President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan if he becomes the new prime minister following the June 7 general elections, Kılıçdaroğlu said the duties of the two posts were “defined by the constitution” and everyone would do their job within these duties.