Outgoing Turkish PM hammers anti-Erdogan ‘plans’

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region — Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim believes that his party's leader and incumbent President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is being targeted internally and externally ahead of the election on Sunday

"Now some president candidates are saying, 'It is not important to win or lose, our main goal is to topple Tayyip Erdogan.' What a coincidence that some countries we regard as friend are saying the same thing. They say 'Let's topple Tayyip Erdogan. There will be someone else and we will have our plans and execute them smoothly’,” Yildirim was quoted as saying by state-run Anadolu Agency.

Yildirim made the remarks from Izmir, on the campaign trail, while inaugurating a data center on Friday.

The post of prime minister will be eliminated after elections, as the government shifts from a parliamentary system to a presidential one.

Yildirim played up threats against Turkey.

"There is a serious trick and plan against our country. The imperial powers are seeking for a new exploitation," he said.

Yildirim did not clarify the "imperial powers," but Ankara maintains Fethullah Gulen and his followers were responsible for a July 2016 failed military coup. Gulen lives in self-imposed exile in Pennsylvania, where US authorities have refused to extradite him.

"That's why they planned coup, plotted December 2013 mass wiretap probe and Gezi Park protests. They are annoyed as Turkey is following an efficient independent policies," he added.

Following the coup, Turkey's president and parliament have renewed a state of emergency, which detractors argue have been used to quell anti-AKP and anti-Erdogan voices.

Polls open in Turkey on Sunday for presidential and parliamentary elections.