Head of Turkey’s opposition Democracy and Progress Party (DEVA) Ali Babacan said his party has alternative plans in case President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his government try to hinder his participation in the upcoming elections.
“Turkish people will do what is necessary after Erdogan destroyed democracy in the country,” Babacan stressed.
In a television interview on Tuesday, he said Erdogan has destroyed the democracy and eradicated the independence of the judiciary and Turkey's reputation abroad.
“No matter what games they play and regardless of changing the rules of the game, as long we receive people’s support we do not recognize any obstacle.”
His comments were made in response to news circulated on the attempts by Erdogan’s Justice and Development Party (AKP) and his ally Devlet Behceli’s Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) to amend elections and political parties’ laws.
According to the circulated rumors, both leaders aim by this move at preventing the DEVA and the Future Party, which was established by former Premier Ahmed Davutodglu, from entering the parliament.
This came after Turkey's main opposition, the Republican People's Party (CHP), announced its readiness to transfer a number of its MPs to the two new parties so that they could run for the elections.
Behceli has earlier suggested amending the laws on elections and political parties and adding articles that prevent the transfer of MPs between parties throughout the parliamentary period or for at least one year.
This has prompted observers to believe that the country will soon head to early elections.
A founding member of the AKP, which has ruled Turkey since 2002, Babacan served as economy and then foreign minister before becoming deputy prime minister for economic affairs, a role he held from 2009 to 2015.
He said the authority knows it is losing control thus it is violating the rules and tampering with the laws, stressing that “the Turkish people will do the necessary during the first elections the country holds.”
Erdogan has committed grave mistakes at all levels and ruined everything after controlling all the state’s institutions Babacan stressed.
