Fatih Erbakan breaks his silence: Responds to Erdoğan's 'trying to make us lose' remarks

The New Welfare Party (YRP), one of the partners of the People's Alliance that supported Erdoğan in the May 14, 2023, presidential elections, had announced that it would enter the elections with its own candidates.

ERDOĞAN HAD TARGETED NEW WELFARE

President Erdoğan, while implicitly targeting the YRP at his Malatya rally, said, "Parties have emerged that are working to make us lose by nominating our party's former mayors and deputies. We are responsible for our own alliance and our own party, but we will not allow those who both work to make us lose and attempt to walk in our shadow with various insinuations."

"IS THIS WHAT DEMOCRACY IS?"

New Welfare Party Chairman Fatih Erbakan held a press conference at his party's provincial headquarters in Gaziantep. Responding to Erdoğan's words, Erbakan said, "The New Welfare Party is not entering the elections to make anyone win or lose."

Erbakan continued his remarks as follows:

"We are entering the elections everywhere to win ourselves. All other parties are the same. If you follow this logic, then in Istanbul, the DEM Party is entering the elections to make the AK Party win. Because the votes the DEM Party receives will come from İmamoğlu. If that is the case, should the DEM Party not enter the elections? If it enters, it will make the AK Party win. The same situation applies to the IYI Party. Then, as I have stated before, let an institution conduct a poll before the elections. Let them determine the two parties with the highest votes and let them enter the election. Because everyone else besides them will be setting out to make someone win. Is this what democracy is? Is this what an election is? Every party that has the right to enter an election enters from the electoral district it chooses. Such an approach is not an appropriate approach toward parties and voters. We are entering the elections to make ethical municipalism dominant once again."

News Source: 12punto