CHP leader calls for calm heads ahead of elections, says AKP is ‘waging war’
ANKARA
Main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu has called for calm heads ahead of the local elections slated for March 31, saying the government is acting like there is war when instead people were just going to vote for local administrations.
He blamed the president for ignoring soaring unemployment in the country.
Kılıçdaroğlu also criticized Erdoğan’s election campaign rhetoric which focuses on Turkey’s “perpetuity.”
“There was no perpetuity problem in this country 17 years ago. Who caused this to happen? You could not manage [this country],” he said at a rally in Ankara’s Keçiören district, referring to the years the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) has governed Turkey.
He said the government itself was behind Turkey’s “perpetuity problem.”
Turkish people have been demanding basic needs like bread, the main opposition leader said, adding that Turkey has been importing crucial products it could produce itself such as cotton and grains.
The government does not actually find antidotes for citizens’ problems, but instead is promoting a campaign blaming “foreign threats.”
“It’s as if we are entering a war. It’s just local elections,” he added.
“We’re just electing neighborhood heads and councilmen. It’s like we’re going to war. Everybody has to avoid this,” he said.
“All of us will give a lesson on democracy,” Kılıçdaroğlu stated.
He urged voters to keep unemployment and poverty issues in mind when voting.
The CHP leader spoke in a district whose municipality is currently run by the AKP, courting votes from crowds at the rally.
Kılıçdaroğlu told the crowds that the government had given the tender of an arms factory in Sakarya province and its operations to Qataris.
