CHP leader dismisses possibility of calling early election

ANKARA

Republican People’s Party (CHP) leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu has dismissed any possibility for his party to make a call for early elections if his party’s alliance displays success against the “People’s Alliance” of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) and Nationalist Movement Party (MHP).

“We won the election, let’s go to another election immediately. This is not a friendly attitude.  It would be opportunism,” he said, speaking to RS FM radio broadcast late March 20.

“Local elections are not a referendum or no vote of confidence,” he said when asked if the People’s Alliance has less than 52 percent of votes in the March 31 elections.

The CHP will not call early elections, because if the CHP’s candidates are elected, the party cannot call for another election before the voters see the services of these mayors, he stated.

“We make local elections, the mayors come out and provide a certain success when we have fulfilled our promises after this success, we will have more votes,” he said.

“We cannot say ’let’s move on to the other election immediately.’”

“The upcoming local elections are to choose local administrations such as muhtars [village heads], so it has nothing to do with the perpetuity of Turkey,” the CHP leader said.

“We live together in this country. Turkey is the most powerful state in the region,” he stated.

He recalled that Turkey had no perpetuity concerns even when it intervened in Cyprus in 1974, which led to Western countries to impose an embargo against Ankara.

“The most ridiculous thing I’ve ever heard. If you say there’s a perpetuity problem, you’re wrong,” he said, but noted that the country could face problems for its future if Turkey loses its production capacity. 

“If you do not produce in the sectors of agriculture, art, university, you will have perpetuity problem,” he said.