Turkish PM not to reply opposition leader until election campaign

The main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) leader Deniz Baykal has called Erdogan to respond to the recent corruption claims surrounding the ruling AKP and lift the immunity of members of Turkish parliament in order to pave the way for these claims to come before court. He also called Erdogan for a televised debate, but Erdogan rejected.

 

"I closed this account until election campaigns. I will not even say a word as response. We speak during the election campaings if needed," Erdogan said Sunday in eastern province of Sivas.

 

Baykal intensified his calls after a televised debate between CHP deputy chairman of the parliamentary group, Kemal Kilicdaroglu, and the deputy chairman of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), Dengir Mir Mehmet Firat.

 

Kilicdaroglu had accused a company, in which Firat was previously a stakeholder, of making fictitious exports and drug smuggling.

 

Following the debate, political experts and journalists agreed that Kilicdaroglu was the more dominant one and he was more successful at proving his claims.

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