Ex-opposition leader Baykal calls on President Gül to intervene in graft scandal

ANKARA

Deniz Baykal comes out of his meeting with Parliamentary Speaker Cemil Çiçek Jan. 3. AA photo

The former head of the Republican People’s Party (CHP), Deniz Baykal, has called on President Abdullah Gül to intervene in the graft scandal that has gripped the country.

Baykal, who was organizing surprise meetings in Ankara, also confirmed that he would meet Gül on Jan. 4.

“The current constitutional crisis has also started to affect the economy. There is a political and judicial lock. We all see that it is imperative to search for a key,” Baykal told reporters after a tête-à-tête meeting with Parliamentary Speaker Cemil Çiçek Jan. 3.

“Our Constitution has thought about our president as a solution for these sorts of difficult periods. This is why the Presidency exists; he has to show his influence,” Baykal said. 

The comments from Baykal, who is holding the meetings after a long period out of the public eye since ceding control of the CHP to Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, come as the government faces accusations of bribery and corruption implicating four ex-ministers.

The ex-leader of the CHP, who is still a lawmaker, reportedly aims to “prevent the claims from resulting in a crisis of state.”
 
“I think that political mechanisms should be mobilized. This is what I shared with the parliamentary speaker. This is what I will share with the president,” Baykal said. “Turkey should come out of [the graft claims] with a purification.”

Baykal also held a meeting in the morning with Kılıçdaroğlu during the meeting.