Gov’t urges questioning success of CHP, MHP, not of İhsanoğlu

ANKARA

The defeated presidential candidate Ekmeleddin İhsanoğlu should not be judged as either a success or failure, as it is the opposition parties that nominated him that should be judged, according to Justice Minister Bekir Bozdağ.

“Ekmeleddin İhsanoğlu should not be assessed as successful or unsuccessful. The votes cast were in line with the will of the leaders of the [Nationalist Movement Party] MHP and the [Republican People’s Party] CHP, but are not related to İhsanoğlu’s personality,” Bozdağ told reporters on Aug. 11, a day after Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan won the election in the first round.

İhsanoğlu was nominated by the opposition CHP and the MHP as a joint candidate for the presidency, but was unable to force the contest into a second round.

“This result should be assessed as a success or failure of the MHP and the CHP and the teams that lent support to them,” Bozdağ said.

“It has been revealed that parties’ coming together doesn’t have a meaning. What matters is the coming together of the nation,” he added.