Election Diary – May 14, 2018

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Turkey’s 13th President will be determined with the snap election to be held on June 24, 2018. If absolute majority is not constituted, then the second tour will be held on July 8, 2018.

The elections developments that took place on May 14, Monday are:

Demirtaş’s election manifesto has been declared

Peoples’ Democratic Party’s (HDP) presidential candidate Selahattin Demirtaş’s election manifesto has been declared:

“I promise a country where there is no social polarization, people don’t turn their behind to each other, love and tolerance prevail”.

Manifesto of Demirtaş, who has been kept in Edirne Type F Prison since November 4, 2016, has been read out at Hilton Hotel in capital Ankara.

In his manifesto, Demirtaş said, “I am coming to end strongman ruling as the president. I will come to this post with a bag of power and will leave with a jacket at the end of the process”.

Akşener has announced her course of action

İYİ Party Chair and presidential candidate Meral Akşener announced her course of action in Ankara.

Some of the commitments Akşener made are:

* Military schools will be opened again

* Bridges will be free of charge

* Inflation will go down below 5 percent

* The Higher Education Board will be removed

AKP Spokesperson: We deal with the political, not numbers

Joining a live broadcast on Habertürk, Justice and Development Party (AKP) Spokesperson Mahir Ünal has briefly said:

“We as the party have always dealt with the political, not numbers. If you get stuck with the number, you will be leaving the politics behind. We’ve first tried to understand the areas of the issues highlighted in the surveys. Politics is the art of managing social problems and needs. In opinion researches, we mostly look into perception map of the voters.

“There is a silent majority in Turkey. They determine the election. It is important how this mass analyzes the situation”.

Erdoğan: They will jump for joy if we lose

President and AKP Chair Recep Tayyip Erdoğan spoke at the program Hard Talk broadcast on BBC. Concerning the election, Erdoğan said:

* If we don’t win, they will jump for joy. You be at ease, both you and the West, especially the BBC be at ease.

* We will put in the utmost effort with our team to win.

* If we win again, everyone should respect it. If we can’t, we will respect anyone who wins, it is as simple as that. (EKN/TK)