‘We are Faced With an Erdoğan Who Carried 1980 Coup Leader Evren a League Further’

* Photograph: Anadolu Agency

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Speaking on behalf of the Nation Alliance in response to President and ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) Chair Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's recent remarks on local elections, main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) Chair Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu and İYİ Party Chair Meral Akşener held a joint statement for the press today (April 8).

Taking the floor after CHP Chair Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, İYİ Party Chair Akşener has drawn a parallel between President Erdoğan and Kenan Evren, the leading figure of the September 12, 1980 military coup: "In his current state, I am likening Erdoğan to [Kenan] Evren."

Speaking further, Akşener has made the following remarks:

'There was an Evren respecting election results'

"As we all remember, after the first elections held in post-1980 coup period, everyone was asking themselves what Evren would do and whether he would accept the election results.

"[Turgut] Özal, who appeared before President [Kenan Evren] after being elected the Prime Minister of Turkey, where such concerns were being discussed, was informed about the election results by Supreme Election Council. We are talking about an Evren who extended his respect to him.

"He [Erdoğan] finds 14 thousand [margin] insufficient to win an election. We are faced with an Erdoğan, who has carried Evren a league further.

'Such things occur only in African dictatorships'

"Therefore, holding new elections until the AK Party wins is something that can only occur in African dictatorships, there are examples of that. Our objections have been rejected, we have lost the elections in Yunus Emre [in Manisa] with a margin of 21 votes.

"Similarly, the objection of the Felicity Party [SP] has not even been answered in İstanbul. Only a few of CHP's objections have been responded."

Addressing the Supreme Election Council (YSK), Akşener also stated, "You are not the office of an Electoral Coordination Center, you are a supreme legal institution controlling the election safety and it is understood that there will be new elections until you win İstanbul."

Concluding her remarks, Akşener also underlined the importance of "immediate normalization of Turkey." (PT/SD)