Opposition Party Leader in Turkey: I won’t pay electric bills until they take back the price increases

Turkey’s main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu said he would not pay his electricity bills until President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan withdrew recent price increases. He called on people to send their bills by tagging Erdoğan on Twitter.

With the continuing economic crisis in Turkey, thousands of people across the country took to the streets last weekend, protesting price increases, especially in electricity and natural gas.

Many shop owners have also been posting their electricity bills on the windows of their shops for the last couple of weeks, protesting the prices.

As the protests spread throughout the country, CHP Leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu posted a new video late on Feb. 9 on his social media account and called on people to send their bills along with their bank account numbers (IBAN) by tagging Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Twitter under the hashtag of #Sırasende (It is your turn).

Neden elektrik faturalarınız şişirildi?
Bir dilim kuru ekmeğinize kim göz dikti?
Bu zulme ancak birlikte son verdirebiliriz. Buyurun bu ibret tablosunu konuşalım… pic.twitter.com/N3ziJef1VQ

— Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu (@kilicdarogluk) February 9, 2022

“I will not pay any electricity bills from today until Erdogan take back the price increases he signed on December 31st” said Kılıçdaroğlu.

“Because it is now his (Erdogan)’s turn. Let’s see what the gentleman will do when you send him an IBAN.” stated Kılıçdaroğlu in the video he shared.

Following Kılıçdaroğlu’s message the hasthtags of #faturamıödemiyorum (I am not paying my bill), #SıraSende (It is your turn) and #IBAN went trending on Twitter.

Bu fatura bizim( 5 kişilik sıradan bir ailenin faturası ) İlk bakışta sanayi sitesinde bir dükkan faturası zannedilecek bir miktar olduğu için açıklama yapma ihtiyacı duydum #FaturamıÖdemiyorum#SıraSende Sayın Cumhurbaşkanım pic.twitter.com/apdRQWTbLr

— Songül (@Songulcoban33) February 9, 2022

Inflation in Turkey soared to nearly 49% in January, the highest since April 2002. In a study by the Inflation Research Group (ENAG), inflation in Turkey over the last 12 months was 114.87% . But analysts say that the real rate of inflation is much higher.

Many people are suffering from high inflation in the country, and the energy bills are expected to be higher in the upcoming months.