Turkish Minister accuses US of meddling in presidential election

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Turkish Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu considered that Western media's manipulations regarding the upcoming presidential and parliamentary elections in Turkey are a realization of the United States' plan, Turkish newspaper Yeni Akit reported.

It is worth noting that weeks ahead of Turkey's presidential election, a number of US and European media published their coverage of the upcoming vote, slamming Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan as a "dictator" and "tyrant".

On May 3, Soylu said the US would attempt a presidential coup during the upcoming election in order to finish what was started in July 2016, when a failed attempt to remove Erdogan from office took place, which the Interior Minister blamed on Washington.

The Turkish official also accused the US of being behind the military coups in Turkey in 1960 and 1971.

"The plan by the US intensifies actively. The reason of Western media's interference is the realization of the US' plan," Soylu said, as reported by Yeni Akit on Tuesday.

According to the Turkish Interior Minister, the West has infiltrated Turkey's political system since 1960.

"Tayyip Erdogan has eliminated all these Western intrusions. Now, the West started to push its vision [on Turkey]. With our victory in the 2023 election, a hundred-year stability will begin. They see it," he said.

He continued, "There is no election a US ambassador would not like to control... They say, Turkey's geopolitical priorities do not meet [Western] interests... Turkey did not accept the US's mandate. They have been trying to take revenge for it for 104 years. Everyone is aware of it."

In late April, Soylu said the US and Europe have assigned the Turkish opposition to remove Erdogan from power.

"Why Tayyip Erdogan? Because America does not want him [at his current post], the West does not want him [to be the president of Turkey]. But it does not matter to us. We are following the will of our people," Soylu indicated, as quoted by The Star newspaper.

Turkey's presidential and parliamentary elections are set to take place on May 14. If necessary, the second round of voting will be held on May 28.

#Turkey is preparing to hold presidential and parliamentary elections on May 14, 2023, in what is described as "the most important in the history of the country."
As the election date draws near, three key takeaways must be discussed.#TurkeyElections pic.twitter.com/LAFW0YItpy

— Al Mayadeen English (@MayadeenEnglish) May 1, 2023

Erdogan has been nominated as a presidential candidate by the ruling Justice and Development Party, supported by the allied Nationalist Movement Party, while Kilicdaroglu has been declared the single candidate of the opposition People's Alliance.

The list of presidential candidates also includes Muharrem Ince of the Homeland Party and Sinan Ogan of the ATA Alliance.

Read more: Biden is supporting Erdogan's opponents: AKP MP to Al Mayadeen