From Erdoğan to CHP Chair Kılıçdaroğlu: Do You Hide Behind Your Immunity?

* Photograph: Murat Çetinmühürdar / AA

Click to read the article in Turkish

President and Justice and Development Party (AKP) Chair Recep Tayyip Erdoğan attended the "Prize Ceremony of Ankara's Best-Ofs" at Ankara Chamber of Commerce Congresium, where he had a fast-breaking meal with industrialists and businesspeople yesterday (May 9).

Regarding the İstanbul Metropolitan Mayoral Elections annulled by the Supreme Election Council on May 6, President Erdoğan said, "What was done there is to rerun an election which became dubious due to the detected malpractices, unlawfulnesses and irregularities."

Addressing main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) Chair Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, Erdoğan also claimed, "He is a politician whose life is based on lies, smears and threats" and continued as follows:

'There are missing points in vote tables'

"If these shady points [about the local elections] had not come out and if CHP's candidate had won the elections by a single vote, then, they would be more than welcome. The rightest decision has been made regarding an election, every stage of which has become questionable.

"Therefore, we will say that the law has operated and will appeal to our nation on June 23. There were missing points in vote counting tables.

"The YSK filed a criminal complaint against those in charge in related district election councils, we will also do so. They will not get away with it."

'He is himself a problem of democracy'

Speaking about CHP Chair Kılıçdaroğlu's criticisms of YSK members, President and AKP Chair Erdoğan stated the following:

"Reading out the names of Supreme Election Council members who voted in favor of repeat elections one by one, Kılıçdaroğlu made the party members boo these people and openly targeted them.

"Do you hide behind your [legislative] immunity? Then, there is something you need to do: Go and request the abolition of your immunity. We will see, then, if you can make such statements or not.

"Such a politician, whose life is based on lies, smears and threats, has himself become the biggest problem of Turkish democracy. With their behavior in this matter, the CHP executives have shown that they have still not given up on their longing for one-party rule.

"When the closure of our party came up, this party was going from square to square, saying there were judges in Ankara.

"We have never insulted them like they do; quite the contrary, we said that justice would be served and it was indeed served." (PT/SD)