Erdogan meets Bahçeli on early elections

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and his fascist allies have delivered a period of unprecedented violence, repression and pressure in Turkey.

After MHP leader Bahçeli's announcement of an early elections, Turkish President Erdoğan met with his allied.

Following the meeting held in Beştepe, Erdoğan said he talked with Bahçeli on a wide range of issues.

Erdoğan always having an excuse ready to justify any of his decisions, once again referred to the “fake” military coup of 15 July and its aftermaths. Erdoğan also quoted the talks between Iraq and Syria and the recent occupation operation launched by Turkey and said all these developments show the “urgency for a new direction”.

Erdoğan said that he had agreed with Bahçeli on the need for early elections and said: "We need to get the election out of the agenda of our country as soon as possible". And added, "We have decided to hold the elections on Sunday, 24 June 2018”.

Numerous experts and politicians have predicted that early elections will be convened. Clearly these will not be early elections but rather “elections by force”, given that no candidates have been decided, and it appears clear that this is a way for Erdoğan and his fascist allies to avoid addressing the real issues the country is facing, namely the economic crisis and the occupation armed campaign launched against Afrin.

According to the normal election calendar, the general and presidential elections should be held on 3 November 2019 with local elections taking place a few months earlier, in March 2019.

These double elections are vital for the Erdoğan regime as they could give full power and control to the President.

Bahçeli said in a statement on Tuesday that he had wanted the elections to be held on 26 August. He said: "The Presidential Government System has not yet been fully implemented. It won’t be easy for Turkey to arrive to 3 November 2019. Which is why it’s not possible to wait until 3 November, it’s getting harder by the minute. It is crucial to maintain the Alliance”.

HDP Co-Chair Pervin Buldan had spoken on Tuesday to her party's parliamentary group meeting. She had said that the HDP had to be ready for early elections. Buldan reminded her party colleagues her words: "What did I say here two weeks ago? I said that the AKP-MHP coalition won’t wait till 2019. Today, Bahçeli made his statement. But rest assured that such a statement he had agreed with Erdoğan”.

Buldan asked: "How will this country undergo an electoral process while the State of Emergency continues?”. And added: “No matter how undemocratic, how under attack we will be. Rest assured that the HDP will participate in the elections”.

Jailed former HDP co-chair Selahattin Demirtas sent a message through his lawyers: "Whether or not I am banned from politics, whether or not I’ll be a candidate, I say we talk first and then we decide the candidates".

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and his fascist allies have delivered a period of unprecedented violence, repression and pressure in Turkey. In this period defined by dictatorship and fascism, massacres and occupations increased, all opposing voices have been targeted, while the prison population increased from about 60 thousand in 2002 to over 230 thousand by the end of 2017.

Hundreds of newspapers, magazines and civil society organizations were shut down and confiscated. Thousands of intellectuals, journalists, politicians, artists and civil society representatives are in prisons.

Kurdish municipalities were usurped and many co-presidents were sent to prison.

The occupation policy of the State has been explicated by the occupation of Afrin.

A fair election is not to be expected in an environment where racism, nationalism and polarization are deepening more and more and where justice and the media are in control of the government.