Republican People’s Party (CHP) presidential candidate Muharrem İnce on Thursday held a giant rally in his party’s stronghold of İzmir, saying he has been working for seven years to lead Turkey.
“I will reunite Turkey. I have been working for seven years with my team. While [President Recep Tayyip] Erdoğan was planning to enjoy his palace, I was working on leading Turkey,” İnce said.
“Everything is ready. I have a perfect team. I will announce them soon. In my cabinet, there will be ministers from every party,” he added.
According to CHP organizers, 2.5 million people attended the rally to hear İnce’s speech out of a population of some 4.3 million.
İnce once again attacked public broadcaster TRT over its lack of coverage of his rallies, also accusing Erdoğan of being the “biggest media boss in Turkey,” referring to his control over the Turkish media.
Since the Turkish media have hesitated to cover opposition rallies, İnce has been asking attendees to broadcast his speeches via their smart phones. However, this time the Internet was cut in İzmir, according to the T24 news website.
After the Internet was cut, İnce said even the roofs of the apartments were full of spectators and that he could win the election, adding that his supporters should convince ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) voters to cast their ballots for the CHP for the Sunday’s vote.