Speaking to a crowd during an election rally in the northwestern province of Yalova, Devlet Bahceli, the leader of the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) and ally to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, slammed the opposition parties as “traitors” for voting against a bill approving the Turkish army’s cross border operations.
“These traitors will either get an aggravated life sentence or a bullet in their body,” Bahceli warned, referring to the opposition parties.
In October 2022, the Turkish opposition voted against a bill allowing the Turkish army to carry out cross-border military operations, mainly in Syria and Iraq.
Turkish presidential candidate Kemal Kilicdaroglu responded to Bahceli’s comments, saying that a “mafia” has come together and they are threatening Turkey.
In support of his ally in the Nation Alliance, Ahmet Davutoglu leader of the Future Party called the statements by Bahceli as being similar to the events 1961 when a presidential candidate was also threatened ahead of elections, resulting in him withdrawing from the race.
“After failing to convince the nation and not getting a result from accusations against us, Bahceli and Erdogan now resort to threats as their final option,” Davutoglu said.
Turkey is set to hold a historic election next Sunday to elect a new parliament and a president for the country. Kilicdaroglu is hailed as the opposition’s candidate to unseat the incumbent president Erdogan.
The elections come at a time when Erdogan’s popularity is at its lowest in 20 years, according to polls. Latest surveys show that Kilicdaroglu is a few points ahead of Erdogan but still short of winning the elections in the first round.
According to Turkish electoral law, if no candidate wins more than 50 percent of the popular vote in the election, then the top two candidates face off in a second round which would take place on May 28.
On Saturday, imprisoned Kurdish leader Selahattin Demirtas urged Turkey’s youth to actively campaign and encourage people in person to vote in the elections, “to finish it in the first round”. Demirtas previously declared that he will be voting for Kilicdaroglu.
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