The central Turkish province of Sivas hosted President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on Tuesday. A crowd of about 75,000 people attended a campaign rally of Erdoğan, ahead of the March 31 municipal elections.
After listing the record of public services and progress achieved by his ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party), Erdoğan criticized the opposition parties he branded as “politically exhausted.” The main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) was at the heart of Erdoğan’s criticism. Erdoğan told the crowd that although he was gaffe-prone, CHP’s previous chair, Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, was a better politician than the current chair, Özgür Özel.
Erdoğan slammed Özel as “a total disappointment” and highlighted his discriminatory rhetoric toward Turkish people in the context of Özel’s recent controversial remarks about conscripts. Özel said at a campaign event that they were asking for votes for citizens who completed their military services but not those who “paid for conscription,” referring to a practice of shorter military service in exchange for payment.
“Targeting people exercising their right is the indication of a warped mindset,” Erdoğan said.
"Özel’s remarks, seemingly uttered for a patriotic angle in the CHP’s campaign, backfired when his critics hit out at him for exploiting the patriotic sentiment and pointing out that some CHP members also served as paid conscripts.”
Özel’s remarks are also viewed as courting nationalist voters who were critical of the CHP’s "alliance" with a party known for its links to the PKK terrorist group, which was behind the killings of a large number of Turkish soldiers over more than 40 years. Erdoğan said that, unlike the CHP, the AK Party valued every citizen regardless of their background.
