AK Party will continue to rule with CHP's praises, says MHP chairman

During the 95th anniversary reception of the General Assembly of Parliament on Thursday, Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) Chairman Devlet Bahçeli said that the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) would continue to govern the country for 12 more years with the Republican People's Party's (CHP) praises of the party's accomplishments. The reception, which took place in Ankara, marking the establishment of Parliament, was arranged by Parliament Speaker Cemil Çiçek.

CHP Deputy Chairman Haluk Koç praised the AK Party on the party's Twitter account on Tuesday for its accomplishments over the last 13 years of governing, in efforts to show the CHP's line included in its electoral manifesto. Koç has shared a diagram on his personal Twitter account that has been retweeted on the CHP's official account, which displayed the AK Party's economic accomplishments. The diagram has the caption: "These sources are already available in Turkey," outlining that while 57 different governments in Turkey accumulated only $779 billion in 79 years, the AK Party has accumulated nearly $2 trillion in 13 years. Some of Koç's Twitter followers responded to his tweet by saying that it is a reason to vote for the AK Party and urged him to delete his post.

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan was unable to attend the reception due to his presence at the Peace Summit in Istanbul, and CHP Chairman Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu and the Peoples' Democracy Party (HDP) members were also absent. In regard to a question about a possible coalition government after the elections, Çiçek said that the people come before the politicians, as Bahçeli said: "Those who believe in a possible collation between the CHP, the MHP and the HDP must see a doctor." With the June 7 general elections approaching, the MHP chairman said that the party aims to increase its votes in an effort to become the single ruling party.

While Turkey's political parties continue to announce their election manifestos, Bahçeli is expected to publicize his party's manifesto on May 3. Although the MHP has not officially announced its election manifesto, local media sources have reported that ending the reconciliation process tops the party's agenda. The MHP election manifesto, which is still awaiting Bahçeli's approval, reportedly has four major points – economic and social policies; corruption, security and combating terrorism and foreign policy. It also reportedly emphasizes the necessity of establishing a new constitution, which has previously been mentioned by the government.