The presidential candidate of the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) Muharrem İnce criticized European countries that banned the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) rallies, saying that every candidate should be able to carry out election campaigns abroad.
"There are countries that say [Recep] Tayyip Erdoğan will not be allowed to hold rallies. We will not be rallying abroad if they allow us to and not him. Every candidate should be allowed abroad. Equal conditions are required in this race," İnce was quoted as saying on Monday by reporters.
Recently, some of European countries such as Germany, Austria and the Netherlands announced that they will not allow the AK Party to hold rallies in their countries. Even though they canceled Erdoğan's rallies, they gave permission to opposition parties to hold gatherings.
The CHP, the Good Party (İP) and the pro-PKK Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) have already carried out various gatherings so far.
Previously, some European Union states banned Turkish politicians from holding election campaigns in their countries despite the presence of large electoral bases for Turkish parties. Ankara criticized the decision saying it is against the democratic rights of European Turks living in EU countries.
Earlier in April, German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas announced that his country would not allow Turkish politicians to carry out election campaign rallies ahead of the upcoming June 24 elections.
According to statistics, there are about 5.5 million Turkish citizens that live in western European countries. In Germany alone, there are about 3 million Turkish citizens, making the country a critical stage for election campaigns in Turkey.
The first out-of-country rally for President Erdoğan will take place in Bosnia-Herzegovina's capital Sarajevo on May 20. The media in Bosnia-Herzegovina have confirmed that the venue where the event is to take place has already been booked.
Speaking about the issue to the journalists, Erdoğan said that European countries' attitude toward Turkish "politicians and citizens are not democratic."