Erdogan’s ultranationalist ally blames opposition leader of being the agent of foreign occupation front

Devlet Bahceli, the leader of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s ultranationalist governing ally Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), blamed opposition of being the agent of “foreign occupation front.”

Bahceli said Kemal Kilicdaroglu, the head of the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) has leased his will for the presidential candidacy, Hurriyet newspaper reported on Sunday.

“Our candidate is Erdogan. Our goal is to elect Mr. Erdogan as president by a wide margin of vote,” Bahceli said during his party’s rally in central Sivas. 

Turkey is facing presidential and parliamentary elections by June 2023. Erdogan, who is losing public support due to economic troubles in the country, is likely to need the support of MHP to help secure re-election as president. Six opposition parties, including Kilicdaroglu’s CHP, are working on putting forward a joint candidate to run against Erdogan at the elections.

None of Kilicdaroglu’s words are in favor of Turkey, Bahceli said.

Bahceli blamed the opposition leader for becoming the volunteer lawyer of Selahattin Demirtas, jailed former co-chair of pro-Kurdish Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) and philanthropist Osman Kavala, who was convicted to life in prison without parole in April, for seeking to overthrow the Turkish government.

The European institutions continuously call Turkey to release Demirtas and Kavala, citing the European Court of Human Rights’ (ECHR) rulings on their immediate releases, saying their rights have been violated.