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In AKP victory speech, Erdogan says Turkey needs genuine opposition

April 12, 2014 at 1:51 pm

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan addressed Egyptians, Syrians and Palestinians in his local elections victory speech Sunday night in the capital Ankara.


“Many people view our victory as their victory, such as your brothers in Egypt, Palestine and the Balkans,” Erdogan told his supporters from his long-awaited balcony speech at the Ankara headquarters of the AK Party. He also thanked the Syrian people for their support and prayers.

Erdogan’s AK Party achieved a major victory despite smear campaigns launched by opponents ahead of the vote. As of 11:00 AM (BST), 97.69% of ballots have been counted. AKP is leading with 45.56%, with the leftist-leaning CHP coming second at 27.91%.

“I said before that I would retire from political work if my party did not come first. However, opposition leaders did not do so because they live off these positions,” Erdogan said.

Moreover, Erdogan added that he expects a number of individuals to flee the country after the results, “because some of them had perpetrated treason against our country” in reference to the parallel entity led by the US-based Fethullah Gulen.

Erdogan threatened that any attack on the Turkish land located on Syrian territories would be considered “an attack on the 81 Turkish states,” referring to the Tomb of Suleiman Shah, a sovereign Turkish territory in Syria.

Furthermore, Erdogan addressed Gulen, referring to him as “the man in Pennsylvania” without naming him, and his affiliated media outlets, saying: “Didn’t you say that you support democracy? Here is democracy, bringing the AK Party to power, and here is the people who brought us to power. Now where do you stand in Turkish politics, other than your pursuit of sedition and corruption?”

He added that the wiretapping of Foreign Ministry communications amounts to “high treason”.

Erdogan mourned the failure of Turkish opposition which in his view “advocates polarisation, discrimination, and divisions among human beings.”

“Turkey needs genuine opposition”, he added, calling on the opposition to open a new page for the sake of Turkey.