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Turkish president rules out delay in snap polls

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IANS Ankara

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has dismissed the possibility of postponing the early elections scheduled for November 1 due to the spiralling violence in the country, the media reported.

"I wish the picture which appeared after the June 7 election doesn't appear [again] because it leads Turkey to lose blood," Erdogan said.

"The election will of course be held. No matter what the conditions are, it will be held," the Hurriyet Daily News quoted the president as saying.

Last week, the Kurdish problem-focused Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) filed a petition before Turkey's top election body regarding electoral security, as Republican People's Party (CHP) leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu dismissed the idea of postponement.

 

HDP co-chair Selahattin Demirtas said conditions to hold early elections in Turkey's eastern parts were unsuitable due to rising violence and the interim government may think of delaying the polls.

Erdogan called for snap elections in Turkey after the failure of coalition talks between the country's political parties in late August.

An interim cabinet was established and announced on August 28 by Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu after Erdogan assigned him to form a caretaker government to steer Turkey to a rerun of June's general election.

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First Published: Sep 08 2015 | 4:06 PM IST

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