President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan stressed yesterday that the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) has been working to provide services in every sector and that this will continue if they get elected; while the opposition has vowed to demolish investments and projects.
Speaking in a rally in northwestern Sakarya province, an AK Party stronghold, Erdoğan said, "In the fields of education, health and tourism, we have been working and producing," and added that the opposition, on the contrary, aims to undermine these efforts.
Main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) Vice Chair Gülizar Biçer Karaca said recently the party would cancel the Akkuyu and Sinop nuclear power plant projects within the framework of international liabilities for environmental purposes if the party takes power. Turkey has had hopes of building nuclear power plants since 1955 but could not realize a project until 2010 when an agreement for the first nuclear power plant was signed with Russia.CHP's presidential candidate Muharrem İnce previously said he sees Turkey's indigenous car project as a waste of time and will not continue the project. He also stressed that if elected, he will not embark on the Kanal Istanbul project, which aims to create a safe alternative waterway linking the Black Sea to the Marmara Sea and the Mediterranean Sea. The estimated cost of the project is TL 65 billion ($15 billion).
Erdoğan also said the AK Party has been emphasizing the importance of the development of Sakarya, while stressing that investments in the province will continue.
As there are few days left until the June 24 elections, Erdoğan introduced the party's plans and projects for the province, as well. He stated that a new university of applied sciences will be established in Sakarya. Touching on the party's previous activities, Erdoğan recalled that a lot of classrooms and dormitories have been built for students in Sakarya.
The president also promised that a city park will be built in Sakarya in the place of the old stadium. As part of the AK Party's election declaration, Erdoğan has vowed to build grand city parks in many provinces, with the most famous one being the city park project in Istanbul. The city park in Istanbul will be built on the location where Atatürk Airport currently stands. With the opening of Istanbul's third airport this fall, Atatürk Airport will be transformed into a city park.Erdoğan also added that high speed train projects will continue.
Erdoğan criticized İnce over his recent controversial remarks against Lt. Gen. İsmail Metin Temel, reminding İnce that Turkey was a state of law.
Last week, İnce had criticized Temel after he applauded Erdoğan during a speech and criticized İnce at a meeting, threatening to make him retire and remove his epaulets if he was to win in the upcoming elections.
Temel is the Second Army Command commander and in charge of Operation Olive Branch in Afrin, Syria. He has been widely praised for the success of the operations. Turkey launched Operation Olive Branch on Jan. 20 to remove the PKK-linked People's Protection Units (YPG) terrorists from Afrin.
Erdoğan also criticized the visits from the CHP to the pro-PKK Peoples' Democratic Party's (HDP) presidential candidate Selahattin Demirtaş in jail, stressing that a person with links to a terrorist group cannot be a presidential candidate.