Erdogan takes swipe at Turkey’s fractured opposition

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Saturday took a swipe at the country’s opposition, which is still reeling from last month’s electoral defeat.

“What has been happening on the opposition front since May 28 tells us how our country came back from the brink of disaster,” Erdogan said during an award ceremony for Turkey’s Export Council in Istanbul.

“We saw how those who promised democracy to our nation become dictators overnight when it came to their positions,” he added, attacking his rival in the presidential election Kemal Kilicdaroglu who has faced a backlash from his party’s base and demands to resign after losing to Erdogan.

“Regardless of intra-party conflicts and father and son’s fight for the throne, Turkey needs a new understanding of opposition,” Erdogan said.

Since losing the presidential election in a hard-fought second round, Kilicdaroglu has been under heavy criticism from within the ranks of the Republican People’s Party (CHP), the largest opposition party and oldest political force in modern Turkey. He has refused to heed calls to step down as leader and described himself as “the captain” who will steer the ship to safety in a speech to newly elected MPs on Tuesday.

“It is the captain’s duty to take the ship safely to the port. Everyone should know that I, as the captain, will take the ship into port safely,” Kilicdaroglu said on Tuesday, promising that he will pave the way for changes within the CHP.

Some within the party have called for Ekrem Imamoglu, mayor of Istanbul and popular figure, to take over leadership of the CHP.

The day following the presidential election run-off vote, Imamoglu, who was poised to become vice president had Kilicdaroglu won, posted a video on social media demanding change. “We will no longer do the same things and expect the same results,” he said in the video.

On May 14, Turkey held parliamentary and presidential elections. Erdogan’s alliance, led by his Justice and Development Party (AKP), won a majority of seats in the legislature, but no presidential candidate passed the mandatory 50% mark and a run-off vote was held on May 28 when Erdogan took 52.14 percent of the votes, while Kilicdaroglu only received 47.86 percent.