There is no need for Erdogan to resign, we will send him off, Kilicdaroglu said at rally

Tens and thousands of people gathered in Turkey’s southern Mersin province on Saturday for a rally led by main opposition leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu to call for snap elections over Ankara’s failed economic policies and the plunging lira.

The leader of Turkey’s Republican People's Party (CHP) vowed to bring “peace, democracy and justice” to the country if his party comes to power in the general elections scheduled for 2023, BirGun newspaper reported.

"I am going to pull Turkey out of this shame,’’ the CHP leader said. "There is no room for despair, we are going to solve all of the problems (of Turkey).’’

Kilicdaroglu’s rally, the first of a string of gatherings the opposition leader plans to hold across the country, arrives as weeks of steep falls in the lira to historic lows against the U.S. dollar and euro have driven up prices in the country. Inflation is over 20 percent.

Turkey’s opposition parties last week urged snap elections amid the currency’s plunge, a call the country’s ruling alliance has dismissed.

"Does the Turkey of the 21st century does deserve this?’’ the CHP leader asked, in response to the crowd chanting for Erdogan's resignation, BirGun reported.

"There is no need for him to resign,’’ he added. "We are going to send him off with civility…. someone is going and we are going to send them off.’’

The CHP leader in his speech also touched upon his unsuccessful attempt to visit the Turkish Statistical Institute (TUIK) in capital Ankara on Friday.

Kilicdaroglu and a CHP delegation, who were visiting the institute in pursuit of data on Turkey’s inflation figures, were denied entry by security at the gates, citing their lack of appointment, according to Turkish media reports.

The CHP leader questioned the TUIK-announced monthly inflation rate of 3.51 percent and annual inflation as 21.31 percent.

"In what research did you do to find these numbers? Are these (TUIK employees) the civil servants of the state or of the (presidential) palace?”

Kilicdaroglu on Friday dismissed TUIK’s figures as failing to “inspire trust” and said the people of Turkey feel higher rates in their day-to-day life.

Reporter's code: 50101

News Code 1814

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