Turkish Opposition Leader Says Elections Should Not Be Postponed

ANKARA (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 14th February, 2023) The leader of Turkey's opposition Republican People's Party (CHP), Kemal Kilicdaroglu, said on Tuesday that the general election in Turkey must take place as scheduled in May or June despite the impact of devastating earthquakes that shattered the country's southeast last week.

On Monday, former Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Bulent Arinc suggested postponing the election because "the country must get rid of the pre-election stress" amid the quakes.

"The constitution is very clear. Elections can only be postponed in the event of war. Since there is no war, the election cannot be delayed. No one can create a unique legal norm by inventing justifications outside the constitution and laws. If we say 'Turkey is a constitutional state,' it is impossible to do this (postpone the elections)," Kilicdaroglu was quoted by the Cumhuriyet newspaper as saying.

The opposition believes that any demands to postpone the election are a pretext for incumbent authorities to avoid it altogether.

"However, they want to implement this idea through the Supreme Election Council, in other words, they want to make special one-time decisions in accordance with their interests. Mr. Arinc's statement shows that. I repeat, legal norms cannot be created for anyone. What needs to be done is to set an election date immediately, whether it will be May 14 as an early elections or June 18, on time.

Avoiding elections will benefit no one, but the damage will be inflicted upon the entire nation," the politician said.

Another opposition politician, Idris Sahin, a member of the Democracy and Progress Party, also believes that the election should take place not later than June 18.

"The law provides that elections should be held on June 18. Until yesterday, the date announced by the ruling parties, May 14, was nothing more than a wish. There was no decision. Therefore, we consider it appropriate to hold elections on June 18, in accordance with the law," the Duvar newspaper quoted him as saying.

In late January, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that the general election in the country was scheduled for May 14, a month earlier than originally planned. However, the parliament should approve the new date, although Erdogan has the power to dissolve it and announce early elections that will take place 60 days after the parliament's dissolution.

Turkey's Nationalist Movement Party and the ruling Justice and Development Party have supported Erdogan as their single candidate. Six opposition parties have also agreed to nominate a common candidate but have not announced a name yet.

On February 6, parts of Turkey and Syria were hit by a series of powerful earthquakes and aftershocks. The death toll from the devastating earthquakes in Turkey exceeded 31,500.