Election Diary – May 13, 2018
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Turkey’s 13th President will be determined with the snap election to be held on June 24, 2018. If absolute majority is not constituted, then the second tour will be held on July 8, 2018.
The elections developments that took place on May 13, Sunday are:
Presidential candidates are on the Official Gazette
Final list of the Supreme Election Board (YSK) for the Presidential election was published on the Official Gazette yesterday (May 13).
According to this, the candidates to run for president in June 24 presidential election are: Recep Tayyip Erdoğan (Justice and Development Party), Muharrem İnce (Republican People’s Party), Selahattin Demirtaş (Peoples’ Democratic Party), Meral Akşener (İYİ Party), Temel Karamollaoğlu (Felicity Party) and Doğu Perinçek (Patriotic Party).
From Demirtaş to Bahçeli: It’d be better if I were a mafia!
Kept in Edirne Prison, HDP’s former co-chair and presidential election Selahattin Demirtaş responded to Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) Chair Devlet Bahçeli, who said, “If Alaattin Çakıcı, Kürşat Yılmaz were proposed for candidacy with signatures of 100 thousand nationalists, would there be a campaign for these heroes of ours to be released from prison?”
Demirtaş said the following via his lawyers on his Twitter account:
“It’d be better if I had become a vicious killer, a psychopathic mafia leader instead of being a party leader receiving millions of votes! But no, thank goodness I’m better like this. You don’t feel bad over such babbles my beautiful mom. I kiss your and all mothers’ hands and wish you all happy mothers’ day”.
On Saturday, MHP Leader Bahçeli slammed the campaigns launched for HDP Presidential candidate Demirtaş to be released from prison. On his Twitter account, Bahçeli posted, “Except child abusers, rapists, women’s murderers, PKK (Kurdistan Workers’ Party) and FETÖ (Fethullahist Terrorist Organization) members, why don’t you ever consider releasing those who dream of freedom and long for their beloved ones? For instance, people like Alaattin Çakıcı and Kürşat Yılmaz”.
Erdoğan: General pardon is not on our agenda
President Erdoğan spoke about Bahçeli’s proposal for general pardon:
“This proposal or demand belongs to Mr. Bahçeli himself but we don’t have such a thought with our government at the moment”.
Mothers’ Day visit by İnce
Muharrem İnce, Soma katliamını anma programı öncesi İzmir'e gelerek, Anneler Günü'nde Mustafa
Coming to İzmir ahead of commemoration program of Soma massacre, Muharrem İnce visited Mustafa Kemal Atatürk’s mother Zübeyde Hanım’s mausoleum.
Stating that he talked to his mother on the phone on Mothers’ Day, İnce said:
“We have a process ahead of us for children of this country to have a good life. I trust two groups a lot during this process. Women and young people. We will make it. We are going to organize a grand İzmir meeting in the upcoming days, hope to see you there”. (EKN/TK)