Turkish political parties will regret not agreeing on a postponed election date due to the chaos it will create, Bülent Arınç, one of the founders of Turkey’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) said on Friday.
Arınç, who has been sidelined by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, was implying opposition parties will stand firm against his proposition to postpone Turkey’s upcoming presidential and parliamentary elections due to the massive scale of destruction caused by the twin earthquakes in the country’s south.
Arınç shared a statement this week advising parties to agree on a new date, adding that he would prefer upcoming elections to be held along with local elections in 2024.
The elections should be held by 18 June according to the Turkish constitution, which only allows room for postponing elections at times of war.
Arınç spoke about his proposition on the Ankara Gündemi YouTube channel on Friday. He once again stressed that all political parties should agree on a new date to bypass the rule set by the constitution and amend the constitution if needed.
“The Parliament should set the date,” he said. “What if this does not happen?” asked journalist Gürkan Zengin to Arınç.
“If this does not happen, they should think what will happen next. Such things will happen that they will regret what they have done,” Arınç said.
“There will be chaos,” he added.
As well as Arınç, other senior officials of the AKP have also been shaming the opposition parties for debating on the election date in the wake of a disaster. Meanwhile, an unnamed AKP official told Reuters this week that elections have to be postponed until November, as the citizens from the earthquake-hit regions are not in a situation to discuss elections.
The quakes rocked 11 provinces in Turkey with a total population of 13.5 million. Those provinces are now witnessing a massive exodus, as survivors have been trying to move to other provinces in the country.
