Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan challenged the legitimacy of a possible win by the opposition ahead of the presidential election on 14 May, and claimed that the opposition’s main presidential candidate Kemal Kilicdaroglu is engaged in efforts to win the presidency “with the support of Qandil,” in other words the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) that has its headquarters in Qandil Mountains.
Speaking at a ceremony on Monday in Ankara, Erdogan said:
“Unfortunately some people, particularly Mr. Kemal [Kilicdaroglu], are making meetings with representatives from Qandil. Shame on them. Qandil will support them. He [Kilicdaroglu] will win the presidency in this country with the support of Qandil. My people will not hand this country over to some one who has become the president with the support of Qandil.”
Erdogan’s remarks were in the same tune with remarks by Binali Yildirim, former prime minister and deputy chair of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), who said on 27 April, “This elections is a vote for struggle of independence.”
He added:
“You will not hand over this Republic, entrusted to us by Mustafa Kemal Ataturk and his comrades a hundred years ago, to those who trade it to terrorist organizations, who stand behind them, will you? Promise that you won’t.”
Source: Gerçek News
