Erdogan’s accusations came in an impassioned speech he delivered days before an increasingly divisive election, according to Reuters.
Erdogan was apparently indicating that his opponents staged a confrontation a day earlier in which crowds threw stones at a key opposition figure in the eastern city of Erzurum, the stronghold of his Justice and Democratic Party. development.
Opinion polls indicate that Erdogan will face the biggest electoral challenge of his political career in the presidential and parliamentary elections scheduled for May 14.
On Sunday, protesters threw stones at Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu, a member of the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP), who will be vice president if opposition leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu , won the presidential election.
A day later, at a rally in the western Turkish city of Edirne, Erdogan accused the opposition of “standing with the terrorists”.
Analysts say he is toughening up his rhetoric in a bid to boost his support among conservative and national voters.
“They (the opposition) are shamelessly trying to discredit our cities by creating a (negative) atmosphere with their provocations,” Erdogan said, without directly referring to the events in Erzurum.
“They are looking for cover for their expected election defeat by provoking and insulting people,” he added.
Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu also accused the opposition of inciting violence in Erzurum.
Soylu said Imamoglu’s wife excited the crowd when she held up a “victory” sign at another rally last week, a sign he said referred to the Workers’ Party of Kurdistan (PKK), banned.
Imamoglu responds
Imamoglu held another rally on Monday in the central city of Konya, another AKP stronghold.
“They may throw stones at us, but we will respond with flowers,” he said.
“The instigators will first learn the lesson of the nation through the ballot box and then they will be judged by independent courts for their mistakes,” he added.
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