Turkey's Erdogan Vows To Form Cabinet Quickly Given Election Victory

ANKARA (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 26th May, 2023) Incumbent Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Thursday that he intends to form the cabinet quickly if he wins the second round of the election on May 28.

"We will need to form the cabinet quickly. We will sit down and make assessments with our friends, and take steps necessary to improve the well-being of our people and the development of our country," he said in an interview with CNN Turk broadcaster.

Erdogan also said that if opposition leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu, his main opponent, manages to secure the majority of votes in the second round, the winners will be "terrorist organizations and American corporations."

"With God's help, if we win on May 28, each one of the 85 million people (the Turkish population according to the official data) will be the winner. If Mr. Kilicdaroglu wins, it will be terrorist organizations, London's pawnbrokers and American corporations who win. We must not give any chances to those who target our unity and solidarity," he told CNN Turk.

Earlier on Thursday, Kilicdaroglu challenged Erdogan to take part in a televised debate together. The opposition leader said that he could prove that Erdogan negotiated and collaborated with terrorists. To that, Erdogan replied that he had nothing to talk about with his opponent.

"Now he's challenging me (to go) to the television. What are you going to talk to me about? He has achieved nothing. He has no vision. Do you want me to talk about the hospital of the Social Security Department in Okmeydani (a neighborhood in Istanbul)? Or should we talk about how you gave 40 seats in the parliament to those who hadn't even managed to win 1% of votes in the election?" Erdogan told CNN Turk and Kanal D.

Turkey held parliamentary and presidential elections on May 14. The first round of the presidential vote saw Erdogan win 49.24% and Kilicdaroglu 45.07%. A runoff is set for May 28.