Erdoğan accuses rival of PKK ties, says 'my nation will not hand over power to you if you're elected'

Photo: AA

As Turkey gears up for its upcoming elections on May 14, tensions are running high between the opposition and ruling party, with accusations of "coup attempts" and "terrorist ties" being hurled back and forth.

Yesterday, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan weighed in on the election, accusing the opposition of cooperating with the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK).

He said, "My nation will not hand over power to them if they are elected president by the support they get from Qandil," referring to the Qandil mountains in Iraqi Kurdistan, where the PKK is largely based.

Transcription of his speech on the Presidency's website did not include these remarks, but similar ones like "my nation will not vote for those who get support from the Qandil."

The election alliance led by the Kurdish issue-focused Green Left Party (YSP), which the ruling camp accuses of PKK ties, announced last week that they would support Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, leader of the main opposition CHP and the Nation's Alliance, in the presidential election.

"Coup" accusations

Meanwhile, Kılıçdaroğlu today spoke out against comments made by Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu, who last week described the elections as a "coup attempt by the West."

Addressing the ruling party, he said, "If there is any attempt at a coup, it is being carried out by you. There is injustice in the judiciary. If a child goes hungry in that country, it means there is injustice."

Ömer Faruk Gergerlioğlu, a member of the pro-Kurdish Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) and Green Left MP candidate, filed a criminal complaint against Soylu over his comments, accusing him of trying to interfere in the elections.

"The minister responsible for security, the minister of crime, Süleyman Soylu, is trying to sabotage the elections. His statements are incredible. He has fallen into confusion by describing the constitutional May 14 elections as a political coup," said Gergerlioğlu. (VK)