The spokesman of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) has described recent developments at the Republican People’s Party (CHP) as an internal matter of the main opposition party and rejected all accusations targeting President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.
“Our President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan is our red line. We won’t let anyone to violate this,” AKP Spokesman Ömer Çelik told a press conference on May 25 in southern province of Adana, in a first reaction from the ruling party after a court reinstated Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu as the chairman of the CHP, denying Özgür Özel’s leadership.
“We have nothing to do with this process. The judicial process was launched after some leading CHP members accused other CHP members of fraud in the CHP congress,” Çelik stated.
The ruling party is always supporting the right to protest but insults and blasphemy targeting Erdoğan is unacceptable and those who committed these will be brought to trial, the spokesman stressed.
Çelik also rejected Özel’s claims that the legal move on the CHP was politically motivated. “We have no such approach. We have no intention of being a part of this situation. We, as the People’s Alliance, are very much focused on our agenda,” he stated.
“This internal conflict within the CHP has transformed into a politics of lies, with some attempting to manipulate the situation over AKP. In particular, Mr. Özgür Özel is employing an excessive and inappropriate political rhetoric targeting our president to cover up his own weaknesses and political inadequacies,” he suggested.
“Clean politics is the most fundamental democratic appeal of the people. The CHP should answer this demand from the citizens,” Çelik said, arguing that the main opposition failed to tackle corruption allegations.
“Even CHP voters do not deserve this kind of politics,” he said.
The government is so busy with international developments and regional issues as well as the “terror-free Türkiye” project, Çelik said, adding they have no time to waste with CHP related developments.
