As the Turkish elections are just days away, the question of the security of the election results or whether the government will recognise an election result that would be against Erdoğan is being raised more and more frequently.
As the election date approaches, provocation attempts against the opposition’s election campaign are increasing. TKP also encounters some attempts and difficulties in its work on the streets. We are not experiencing these for the first time, so it is too early to say that there are special conditions for these elections. Yet, the conditions have the potential to evolve towards a more dangerous atmosphere.
While there are provocation attempts targeting political actors, there are rumours that the government, imperialist actors and groups are making preparations to influence the election results against the will of the people.
Lastly, a tape about the personal life of Muharrem İnce, one of the 4 presidential candidates, was shared with the public. It was understood that the tape was fake, but the process ended with the withdrawal of Muharrem İnce from the presidential candidacy on 11 May. Ince’s voters are expected to turn to Kılıçdaroğlu, the strongest candidate against Erdoğan.
Meanwhile, Kılıçdaroğlu, the main opposition leader and candidate for the presidency, made a statement and claimed that Russia was behind these plots.
We share the questions asked to TKP Secretary General Kemal Okuyan about the process and his answers during the Tele 1 TV live broadcast last night:
***
-Kemal Okuyan, General Secretary of the Communist Party of Türkiye, is with us. Mr Okuyan, hello.
-Hello, good evening.
-Mr Okuyan, there are very hot developments. One of them is Kilicdaroglu’s warning about the possible intention of Russia to intervene in elections.
“Dear Russian friends, if you are behind the montages, conspiracies, fake content and tapes that were revealed in this country yesterday, take your hands off the Turkish state, if you want our friendship to continue after 15 May. We are still in favour of cooperation and friendship.”
What do you think about this development?
I saw this programme before attending an election meeting in Izmir. I was very surprised.
We all know the pro-NATO line of the Republican People’s Party (CHP) administration or the Millet (Nation) Alliance. There is nothing surprising here.
But on the other hand, the fact that a very strong candidate for the presidency so openly accuses a country that is extremely important economically and politically for Türkiye really surprised me, which is happening 2-3 days before the election. I mean, it also surprised me in terms of political technique. Because Türkiye has to maintain good relations with Russia. Both because we are neighbours and because we have so many relations.
But I will also remind you that yesterday I did not see anything that could be the intervention of a state in Türkiye. There is an accusation about a person’s private life and something that is obviously not true, and it has turned out that it is not true. So if there were other things that happened yesterday that we don’t know about, I cannot comment about that. But there is one thing I know. For years, the source of dirty plots, conspiracies or open murders, interventions in politics in Türkiye has always been one. In other words, not only us leftists in Türkiye, but everyone living in Turkish society knows the USA as the address. And this is the truth.
Now suddenly in Türkiye (in the opposition) there is a situation of pointing the finger at Russia. Whatever kind of evidence they have for this should be shared.
As I said, we have documents and evidence of how the US and two other imperialist countries, Germany and Britain, have been interfering in Türkiye’s politics for years. So there is no doubt. But now a thesis that Russia is interfering in the elections in Türkiye has suddenly been put before the Turkish society. And I wonder what is behind this thesis.
I wonder as a citizen, I mean, beyond being a politician, I wonder as a citizen.
Türkiye is already a member of NATO, we have been ruled by a political power that has been making sinister interventions in our region together with the USA for years. Of course, we have concerns that this discourse before a critical election in Türkiye will bring Türkiye closer to the pro-NATO line. This is an extremely dangerous discourse for Türkiye.
As I said, if they have evidence, this evidence needs to be put forward. And it is not put forward in this way. I mean, it is not put forward with a social media post. Because Türkiye has very critical political and economic relations and there is a war going on right next to us. Now I am watching on social media, our citizens who make posts, they need to be more careful. If Türkiye continues to take new steps in this pro-NATO line, it will have huge costs. Therefore, whether Russians are behind this or not, this is not a phenomenon that can be evaluated on a coffee table. We really need to take it very seriously.
Mr Okuyan, one of our viewers posed the following question: “Mr Okuyan is making an unfortunate statement.” Why? He justified this opinion as follows. “Mr Kılıçdaroğlu’s reaction and Russia’s reaction are neither to Russia nor to the Russian people. It is the mysterious relationship between Putin and Erdogan”, he says. Would you like to comment on this?
Now, of course there is a relationship between Putin and Erdoğan. I mean, Putin supported Erdogan at very critical moments. But from time to time, as you know, they also had very tense relations in the recent past. Now, let’s assume that this is true. In other words, there is a close relationship between Putin and Erdoğan. Therefore, Kılıçdaroğlu’s statement is directed towards Putin, not Russia. If we say this, we ignore the following:
Russia is a well-established country. Yes, there is a government in Russia. It is a rule that we do not favour at all. I underline that Putin is not on our side, he is on the opposite side from our point of view. But this must be known. The interlocutor here is the Russian state. In other words, Russia is the country that is said to be interfering in Türkiye’s internal affairs. A message is being sent to other targets between the lines. It should be the opposite. If there is a message intended to be given to Russia, it must be given between the lines. This is not so rash. I take all countries seriously. All countries are equal in my eyes. But Russia is not just any country.
Has such a word ever been said about the United States of America by the opposition in Türkiye? Haven’t we seen the US intervention in Türkiye for years in this country? That is why I say it is surprising.
Election provocations, black propaganda, attacks, the behaviour of the Minister of Interior. How do you see an election process under the shadow of these provocations?
Let me say it very clearly. Erdogan’s government, which we as a party want to see go as soon as possible, is at the root of Türkiye’s current situation. The “unruliness” of Erdoğan’s rule, the political culture of Erdoğan’s rule, the place where Erdoğan’s rule has squeezed the society of Türkiye lies at the source of the fact that Türkiye cannot discuss anything today.
Türkiye needs to get rid of Erdoğan.
So let me say it very clearly. At the root of all these, including the issue we have just discussed, lies the damage caused by 20 years of AKP rule. As you can see, it is not so easy to defend a pro-US line in Türkiye.
But people have come to such a point that a pro-US line is being defended on the basis of opposition to Erdoğan.
This is very disturbing. Erdoğan must go as soon as possible. The approach of the Communist Party of Türkiye has been confirmed in this matter. Firstly, I would like to say this.
Secondly, there is a similar problem globally: The world is insistently squeezed between the pro-American line and libertarianism. Look, the same thing is happening. There is a mullah regime in Iran. No one who does not live in the mullahs’ regime can talk about the picture there. There has been a very heavy pressure on people in the mullahs’ regime for years. But on the other hand, there is US intervention in the region. Therefore, some people stand on the side of the Iranian regime because the US is intervening in the region. Others, on the other hand, look through the eyes of the Iranian people and say “the US does not matter, what is important is the overthrow of the mullahs’ regime in Iran”.
The same thing happened in Pakistan. Look, Imran Khan was a person who developed good relations with the USA in his time and was actually brought into politics by the USA. He was a very cruel and terribly corrupt person. He was finally brought down with the US coup. And now the streets are in turmoil. Pakistan has the same dilemma.
There is a tension between the anti-American and the libertarians. Now Türkiye is being dragged into this.
And the “domestic and national” jargon of the ruling power and the opposition’s pro-US position are being pitted against each other, so as being in favour of freedoms and being against imperialism It is necessary to get out of this equation. The way out of this equation is to look at the issue from a class perspective. It is to bring the paradigm of equality to the agenda.
In order to achieve this, this country should no longer spend even an hour with Erdoğan. Because Erdogan has ruined Türkiye’s balance. Look, we have an Interior Minister who says that we will hit down on you on 15 May. We are approaching the elections with such an Interior Minister. That’s not going to happen. I mean, who the hell are you to be stomping on us? What right do you have? Therefore, there is something uncanny here. Let’s get rid of this uncanniness.
The society in Türkiye should act very carefully and cautiously. There is a war going on right next to us. And we all need to take this seriously. War is terrible. The possibility of this war expanding will perhaps threaten the existence of humanity. Therefore, I repeat, the AKP government is at the centre of this electoral tension.
We do not know what else they will come up with. We don’t know which tapes will be released, which provocations will come. But the way to be prepared against these is not through a pro-US stance. On the contrary, a pro-US line legitimises the despotism or provocations of the AKP government. I underline, this is a very dangerous situation.
Mr Okuyan, you know that something unexpected happened again today. Muharrem İnce announced his withdrawal from the race. Of course, he announced this to the public with made-up statements. Muharrem İnce’s candidacy was a factor that was always emphasised and mentioned in this election process in terms of the presidential election. Now he has withdrawn. What kind of effects can it have? How do you evaluate it?
Now, this election is no longer a predictable election. There were already uncertainties. Now I think there is no point in looking at polling companies and all that. Because we encounter new developments every hour and there had been already uncertainty about this election. Now, therefore, I think the answer to the question of who will benefit from Muharrem İnce’s withdrawal is not clear.
I would not find it appropriate to enter this issue through Muharrem İnce’s personality. Because he has obviously had a very troubled few days.
No one can estimate how those who were considering voting for Muharrem İnce will do now. In other words, this is not only about Muharrem İnce’s not pointing to another candidate while announcing his withdrawal, or I am not talking about something related to his presence within the opposition.
Those who were thinking of voting for Muharrem İnce were already acting with a total reaction or a protest.
Therefore, it is very difficult to predict where these votes will be directed. Perhaps they would not have listened to Muharrem İnce even if he had pointed somewhere. Therefore, I do not agree with the idea that Muharrem İnce’s withdrawal directly facilitated Kılıçdaroğlu’s election.
On the other hand, it also proves how strange this election was. Three days before the election, one of the four candidates withdrew or have been made withdraw. This is proof of how difficult a period is opening before us. As we have always said, the antidote to these difficulties, the “vaccine”for society, the “medicine” for society is organisation. Otherwise, after these tapes, conspiracies, provocations, and so on, everyone will retreat to their homes. Where everyone retreats to their homes, there is no security at the ballot box.
What would you say to the people, voters and the public who have question marks in their minds about whether the votes cast to TKP will be wasted?
Thank you for this question. First of all, of course, for us, the Communist Party of Türkiye, the parliament is important.
If everyone who believes in the Communist Party of Türkiye’s word, who says that TKP says the right thing and trusts us, do cast their votes for TKP, then TKP will easily break the electoral threshold. Let me say this first.
Now, apart from that, let’s assume that the Communist Party of Türkiye gets stuck in the threshold. Will the votes be wasted?
All important issues in Türkiye and the world are actually resolved within the ranks of the society. Important issues do also come up in parliament, but parliaments generally follow the balance of power in society.
Look, there is a great cost of living in Türkiye. The parliament has been inadequate and will continue to be inadequate in dealing with this cost of living. There was an earthquake, parliament did not rush to the ruins of the earthquake. It was the people who made solidarity acts. The Communist Party of Türkiye was at the forefront of those acts.
As of 15 May, the economic problems of the poor people in Türkiye will increase. There will be lay-offs, the cost of living will rise, and even if you raise the wages uo to 50 thousand liras, it will be useless.
In such a period, a party that is organised, that stands upright, that raises the voice of labour against capital becomes important.
A party that raises the voice of secularism against cults…
A party that raises the voice of independent Türkiye against imperialism and NATO… must be strong.
I underline, in order for Türkiye’s fundamental issues to be resolved in parliament, a resistance must emerge first in the society. At the moment, the Communist Party of Türkiye represents the people’s resistance.
Therefore, why would the votes be wasted? Every vote of the Communist Party of Türkiye or a radical increase in the votes of the Communist Party of Türkiye will strengthen the resistance of people in Türkiye.
Look, there are sectarians and congregationists scattered in every party in Türkiye. Capitalists are in the majority in every party.
And almost the vast majority of the parties who are candidates for parliament or the parties that will in the end govern Türkiye are NATO supporters.
Now, in such a country, if there is no uprising in the society, we will continue to be in harmony with the cults, NATOism, pro-US line and the dictatorship of capital, the predominance of the market.
That is why I appeal to the citizens from here. A vote for the Communist Party of Türkiye is not wasted. A vote for the bourgeois parties will go to waste. The same thing has been said for years and decades.
Now vote for the party you believe in. Don’t vote strategically. Don’t cast a “borrowed” vote either. People should vote for the party they believe in, the party they trust, the party they adopt.
TKP does not ask for votes from people and citizens who do not embrace it. If you like what TKP says, if you support it, vote for the Communist Party of Türkiye. We do not ask for borrowed votes from other parties.
Mr Okuyan, thank you very much for your contribution.
Thank you too.