Istanbul, May 9, (dpa/GNA) – A few days before the elections, Turkish opposition leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu said he wants to govern the country more democratically than President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.
In an interview with German public broadcaster ARD on Monday, he said he wants to “wrest Turkey from an authoritarian leadership” and wants to fully implement “all democratic standards of the European Union.”
At the same time, he reaffirmed his plan to send the many refugees from Syria back to their home country and to negotiate with the government in Damascus.
In regards to the imprisoned former leader of the pro-Kurdish HDP, Selahattin Demirtaş, and the businessman and human rights activist Osman Kalava, Kılıçdaroğlu said he wanted to abide by the rulings of the European Court of Human Rights which has demanded the release of both men.
Both were imprisoned under Erdoğan’s rule. In his speeches, Erdoğan has continuously labelled the men as enemies of the state.
Meanwhile, 15 people were arrested and taken in for questioning following attacks during the campaign event of Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu, the state-affiliated news agency DHA reported on Monday.
The campaign event on Sunday in the eastern Turkish city of Erzurum was interrupted by people throwing stones at the mayor, injuring several people.
İmamoğlu accused the police of not taking any action.
İmamoğlu is a politician of the largest opposition party CHP and supports Kılıçdaroğlu in the election campaign. In the event of an opposition victory, İmamoğlu is to become vice president.
Erdoğan has repeatedly lashed out at the opposition during the election campaign, accusing them of cooperating with “terrorists.”
On Sunday, he showed an alleged campaign video of his challenger at an event with several participants, in which a member of the banned Kurdish Workers’ Party PKK was cut and the video made it appear that the man was singing the CHP’s campaign song.
Around 60.7 million voters in Turkey and 3.4 million abroad are eligible to elect a president and a new parliament on May 14.
The polls are predicting it to be a close race between Erdoğan, the incumbent president, and Kılıçdaroğlu, who is running as the candidate of an alliance of six parties with different ideological orientations.
GNA