Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) Chairman Devlet Bahçeli said Wednesday that President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan will win the presidential election scheduled for June 24 in the first round and criticized pledges to return to the parliamentary system.
Speaking to journalists at a fast-breaking event, Bahçeli said the new presidential system was approved by the people and that it has now arrived at the phase of execution, set to take effect after the upcoming elections.
Last week, Republican People's Party (CHP) presidential candidate Muharrem İnce vowed to bring back the parliamentary system in his election manifesto if he wins.
After the April 16, 2017 referendum, the public decided to switch from a parliamentary to an executive presidential system with a 51.2 percent vote. The new system is scheduled to take effect with the upcoming presidential election on June 24.
The MHP leader defined the recent seesaw in the dollar's exchange rate as a "scenario," emphasizing that the erratic movements are deliberately being carried out to tarnish the government's image before elections. He said the same method was used against then Prime Minister Bülent Ecevit in 2001 when Turkey was shaken by a grave economic crisis, adding that manipulation attempts will not work.
Volatile moves continue in the U.S. dollar-Turkish lira exchange rate as it saw a historic high, climbing over 4.75 at Wednesday's market opening. The U.S. dollar-lira exchange rate was at 3.78 in the beginning of this year, while last year $1 traded for TL 3.65 on average. The government asserts that the fluctuations are originating from external influences on the Turkish market.