Presidential candidate Kemal Kilicdaroglu tweeted on Thursday, May 11:
“Dear Russian friends,
You are behind all the deepfakes, the plots, the sex tapes scattered across our country.
If on the morning of May 15, you wish to remain friends with us, take your hands away from this state that belongs only to Turks.“
Speaker for the Kremlin Dmitry Peskov responded at a press briefing today:
“There can be no question of any interference of Russia in the elections… We strongly reject such statements, we officially declare that there can be no question of any intervention. Those who have passed on these suspicions to the main opposition candidate are liars.“
Meanwhile, Erdogan told Kilicdaroglu: “Your attack on Putin will find no forgiveness from me.“
CHP MP Murat Bakan announced that the CHP has filed 5 criminal complaints against Minister of the Interior Suleyman Soylu, and that 105 more remain to be filed.
Bakan stated: “He has constructed a criminal organization within the ministry… Its Security and Emergency Coordination Center (Güvenlik ve Acil Durumlar Koordinasyon Merkezi) is sending written instructions through our governors [state-appointed provincial administrators] to army command posts.
I ask you: Why has Soylu written this document asking the Turkish Armed Forces to stand at the ready? Why do they need the Turkish Armed Forces for an election? Why do their armed vehicles need to be prepared?
I call to you, governors: Do not take part in this crime. I call to you, soldiers: This is a routine election. Elections happen every five years.“
Bakan’s warning accompanies a similar statement from Victory Party (Zafer Partisi) chairman Umit Ozdag:
“The police and gendarmerie forces are deeply disturbed. These forces are being called to collect election results from ballot boxes and deliver them to the current government. They are resisting these orders, which are given outside the law, by asking to be commanded in writing. Their superiors refuse to issue written commands, because they do not want their illegal actions to go on record. Officers who wish to obey the law are being threatened that they will be investigated, they will lose their positions. But my beloved brothers in the police and in the gendarmerie: do not comply with illegal orders. You serve not the AKP, but the Turkish nation.”
Ozdag is referring to confessions from police officers such as one in Adana province who spoke to Halk TV [a media channel aligned with the opposition]:
“Even if we cannot get the official results, we are supposed to watch and make notes of the vote counts. We are under enormous pressure.“
Erdogan made a series of statements about the election that were broadcast by 18 different television channels at once. Some of the channels were forced to replace scheduled TV drama episodes with the broadcast, which met intense criticism over social media.
“He who does not respect the ballot box does not respect the people,” Erdogan said. “The People’s Alliance (Cumhur Ittifaki) is the guarantee of democracy in this country. We will accept any result as legitimate. We expect the same commitment from the opposition. However, we know that the CHP side considers it an achievement to spread antidemocratic sentiments before and after every election. The ballot box is the honor of a democracy.“
Kilicdaroglu responded: “Good. If any result will be counted legitimate, this is what we want. Then there can be no coup attempt such as that spoken of by the Minister of the Interior.“
Kilicdaroglu is referring to Suleyman Soylu’s claim from two weeks ago that “May 14 [election day] is a political coup attempt… a Trojan horse [for the opposition] to seize power.“
The CHP announced precautions against cyberattacks, internet interruptions and slowdowns on election night.
CHP vice president Oguz Kaan Salici stated: “We have 563,784 people working as volunteers [for election safety.] This is a polluted process but we are not anxious. We are certain Kilicdaroglu will win in the first round with over 50% support. We desire an election process without a single nosebleed.“
CHP vice president Onursal Adiguzel added: “If such service interruptions occur on election night, this is not normal. It is a deliberate movement against the will of the people, which will reveal itself in the election. We have 24 hours to file objections against a potential cyberattack. We must not leave the ballots alone.“
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