The state of emergency declared in the wake of the July 2016 failed coup attempt may be lifted after the June 24 elections, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said late June 7.
During a live broadcast on CNN Türk and Kanal D televisions late June 7, Erdoğan answered the questions of Mehmet Soysal, the CEO of Demirören Media Group, and Hande Fırat, daily Hürriyet’s Ankara representative. The program, aired from the historic parliament building in Ankara, was moderated by Kanal D anchorwoman Buket Aydın.
“God willing, we will review the state of emergency after the elections and we may lift it. We will work on it after we form a cabinet. The issue will not linger on for so long. We will take a step and move on,” Erdoğan noted following a question.
Turkish President slammed the opposition during the program, arguing that only his ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) proposed “tangible plans and projects” to the electorate ahead of the 24 elections. As an example for such projects, the president pointed finger at Canal Istanbul.
Once completed, the canal will reduce shipping traffic passing through the Bosphorus Strait, removing the risk of ships crashing into historic sea-front mansions, he said.
“It is a strategic project, it is not done for pleasure. We will also use the two sides of Canal Istanbul as a reserve area in Istanbul’s urban renewal,” Erdoğan added, noting that the risky, older buildings closer to the city center would be demolished and new residences would be built near the canal for their owners.
“Does the opposition propose such projects? No, they don’t speak about such things. Promising happiness and peace is not a project, it can only be a wish. They just don’t explain how they would realize these wishes,” he remarked, targeting Muharrem İnce, the presidential candidate of the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP).
Earlier on June 7, too, Erdoğan had directly taken aim at İnce, accusing him of “manipulating the electorate.”
“They say they will demolish the [presidential] palace. Your leader [Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu] used to say the same thing. Then he came to the palace willingly. You will never even have the opportunity to even come to the palace,” Erdoğan said at a campaign rally in the southern province of Mersin.
He accused the CHP of pledging to destroy “what the [ruling Justice and Development Party] has built during its 16 years in office,” saying the opposition only aims to “return to the old Turkey.”