At almost the same time as agencies were reporting that the number of Palestinian demonstrators killed by Israeli troops in Gaza on May 14 had reached 41, U.S. President Donald Trump spoke in a live broadcast to Jerusalem. Trump said he was committed to the “peace process” in the Middle East and congratulated Israel on its 70th anniversary, while the U.S. opened its embassy in Jerusalem (making it the first country to do so).
Before departing for the United Kingdom on May 13, President Tayyip Erdoğan turned down an offer by his ally, Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) head Devlet Bahçeli, saying a “general amnesty” was not on the agenda of his ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Parti) ahead of the June 24 snap elections.
Opposition parties are closely cooperating to maintain ballot box security in the snap elections on June 24, top sources told the Hürriyet Daily News. The sources did not want to be named or disclose details about cooperation, but one ranking campaign team member of an opposition party said the cooperation “started with sharing voter data at as many ballot boxes as possible.”
Wolfgang Ischinger is the chairman of the Munich Security Conference, perhaps the most prestigious international forum where global foreign policy and security issues have been debated in detail by invitees every February since 1963. It has also been a major channel to promote transatlantic security beyond the bounds of the Western defense alliance NATO, while also being a platform to keep ties between the United States and Europe in place.
Muharrem İnce, the presidential candidate for the social democratic main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP), has brought a new style to Turkish politics since starting his campaign after being nominated by CHP head Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu.
Yesterday, on May 8, President Tayyip Erdoğan’s speech to his ruling Justice and Development Party’s (AK Parti) parliamentary group was broadcast live on all national TV stations, as usual.
Early elections on June 24 will likely mark a crucial turn for Turkey not only regarding the country’s administrative system but also in domestic and foreign policies.
Turkey’s main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu’s move to lend 15 of his MPs to the right-wing İYİ (Good) Party after President Tayyip Erdoğan called for early elections on June 24 took many by surprise.
“We are winning with a large margin, no matter what the opposition parties do,” President Tayyip Erdoğan said on May 2 before returning from an official visit to South Korea.
