Leaders of opposition alliance call for early elections, saying Turkey is not well governed

Chairman of Turkey’s main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu and İYİ Party leader Meral Akşener on have called for early elections, accusing the Justice and Development Party, which has been in power since 2002, of poorly governing the country.

Kılıçdaroğlu and Akşener, whose parties set up the Nation Alliance before the general election of 2018, spoke at a joint news conference following a visit by Kılıçdaroğlu to Akşener at İYİ Party headquarters in Ankara on Wednesday.

“We want elections. Turkey cannot go on like this. There is no merit-based employment or transparency. There is a Turkey that is governed by a single person. We are faced with a country in which money flows to the rich while the poor are left to die,” said Akşener.

Critics have been complaining about the country’s one-man rule, particularly after the presidential system of governance went into effect in Turkey in 2018 under which Erdoğan was elected as the first president, enjoying vast powers.

Kılıçdaroğlu said when a country is not well governed, it is necessary to go to the people and that this is the rule in democracies.

“There is no need to be afraid of the public. There is nothing more valuable than resorting to will of the nation. If the nation is pleased with you, then they will bring you to power again,” said the main opposition leader.

Turkey has been going through a series of political and financial crises. The Turkish lira has lost around 30 percent of its value against the US dollar since the beginning of the year.

Earlier this month Turkey’s Finance Minister Berat Albayrak, who is also Erdoğan’s son-in-law, resigned shortly after Erdoğan replaced the governor of the country’s central bank.

“Turkey has been poorly governed for a long time and is being diverted from its path. For good governance, there should be merit-based employment, and problems should be properly diagnosed,” said Kılıçdaroğlu.

He also accused the AKP of being held hostage by the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) with which it set up the Public Alliance against the Nation Alliance in 2018.

Turkey, which holds a general election every five years, is scheduled to hold the next general election in 2023.