Ankara accuses US of meddling in Turkey’s presidential vote

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan addresses his supporters during a rally ahead of the May 14 presidential and parliamentary elections in Istanbul, Turkey, May 7, 2023.

According to Star daily, the statement by Turkey’s top cop followed the announcement that Homeland Party leader Muharrem Ince would be dropping out of the country’s tightly contested presidential race.

“The United States regularly interferes in elections in Turkey, resorting to various methods, including through the use of so-called tape conspiracies [fabricated videos]. What has Muharrem Ince done to them? They have no shame at all,” the newspaper quoted Soylu as saying.

According to Soylu, “US President Joe Biden stands” behind all such actions aimed against Turkey.

“It’s he who claims that if they failed [to oust President Recep Tayyip Erdogan] by means of a coup, then they will do it by meddling in the electoral process,” the Turkish minister emphasized.

Ince, head of the Homeland Party, said on May 11 that he was withdrawing from the race. Ince cited inappropriate and unnecessary pressure that was being put on him through various provocations, accusations and disinformation as the reason behind his decision to withdraw his candidacy.

Soylu announced earlier this month that the United States was carrying out a plan to oust incumbent President Erdogan during the upcoming May 14 presidential election as an act of revenge for the failure of the coup attempt against Erdogan in 2016.

In an interview with Turkish daily Haberturk on May 3, Soylu stated: “We know that the United States was behind the coup attempt in Turkey and they want revenge for the failure of the coup. We also know that they want to take revenge on Erdogan for destroying the system of power that the US had built [in Turkey] since the 1960s.”

Three candidates are currently vying for the top office in Turkey’s first round presidential vote to take place this Sunday. They are Erdogan, his main rival Kemal Kilicdaroglu, who leads the Republican People’s Party, and ATA Alliance candidate Sinan Ogan. Turkey’s combined presidential and parliamentary elections will be held on Sunday, May 14.