Anadolu Agency (23 March 2017)
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has called on Bulgaria to hold a fair and transparent general election on Sunday.
A largely ethnic-Тurkish coalition called DOST is also campaigning.
Speaking at an address to the representatives of NGOs from Balkan countries at the presidential complex in Ankara, Erdogan said Turkey was deeply saddened by news of “pressure” being exerted on Bulgarian Turks ahead of Sunday’s vote.
"You [Bulgaria] speak of democracy but also put pressure on the Turks living there; it is incredible," Erdogan said.
Bulgarian citizens will vote on March 26 in the country's third parliamentary election since 2013.
According to the Central Election Commission of Bulgaria, there are 6.5 million voters in the country.
As a former Ottoman territory, Bulgaria has a large Turkish minority of about 10 percent, according to official census figures.
Bulgarian citizens will be able to vote in 400 centers abroad. Thirty-five ballot boxes will also be set up in Turkey for an estimated 500,000 expat residents.
However, tensions between Bulgaria and Turkey have recently escalated over claims that Ankara is interfering in the election by favoring the Democrats for Responsibility, Freedom and Tolerance (DOST) coalition.
“Turkey is our neighbor, friend and partner and we insist on developing good relations,” Bulgarian President Rumen Radev said in a television interview last week.
“But Turkey’s interference in our elections is a fact, and this interference is inadmissible," he added.
DOST, which means ‘close friend’ in Turkish, generally has ethnic Turks or Muslims among its members.
By Ilkay Guder
http://aa.com.tr/en/todays-headlines/erdogan-calls-for-fair-election-in-bulgaria/778237
No comments yet.
- "IF I WIN, DECISION ON NEW PM IN APRIL OR MAY" - VUCIC The Balkans 24.03.2017
- ANOTHER STABBING LINKED TO ARMENIAN ELECTION CAMPAIGN The Caucasus and Turkish-Armenian Relations 24.03.2017
- KREMLIN CRITIC VORONENKOV KILLED IN KYIV Europe - EU 24.03.2017
- GERMAN SPD DISMISSES NEPOTISM ACCUSATIONS AGAINST SCHULZ Europe - EU 24.03.2017
- ELECTIONS IN ARMENIA: BUSINESS AS USUAL? The Caucasus and Turkish-Armenian Relations 24.03.2017
-
Türk-Ermeni İlişkileri Üzerine Ömer Engin Lütem Konferansları 2022 -
RADİKAL ERMENİ UNSURLARCA GERÇEKLEŞTİRİLEN MEZALİMLER VE VANDALİZM -
PATRIOTISM PERVERTED -
MEN ARE LIKE THAT -
BAKÜ-TİFLİS-CEYHAN BORU HATTININ YAŞANAN TARİHİ -
INTERNATIONAL SCHOLARS ON THE EVENTS OF 1915 -
FAKE PHOTOS AND THE ARMENIAN PROPAGANDA -
ERMENİ PROPAGANDASI VE SAHTE RESİMLER -
Türk-Ermeni İlişkileri Üzerine Ömer Engin Lütem Konferansları 2021 -
A Letter From Japan - Strategically Mum: The Silence of the Armenians -
Japonya'dan Bir Mektup - Stratejik Suskunluk: Ermenilerin Sessizliği -
Türk-Ermeni Uyuşmazlığı Üzerine Ömer Engin Lütem Konferansları 2020 -
Anastas Mikoyan: Confessions of an Armenian Bolshevik -
Sovyet Sonrası Ukrayna’da Devlet, Toplum ve Siyaset - Değişen Dinamikler, Dönüşen Kimlikler -
Türk-Ermeni Uyuşmazlığı Üzerine Ömer Engin Lütem Konferansları 2019 -
Türk-Ermeni Uyuşmazlığı Üzerine Ömer Engin Lütem Konferansları 2018 -
Ermeni Sorunuyla İlgili İngiliz Belgeleri (1912-1923) - British Documents on Armenian Question (1912-1923) -
Turkish-Russian Academics: A Historical Study on the Caucasus -
Gürcistan'daki Müslüman Topluluklar: Azınlık Hakları, Kimlik, Siyaset -
Armenian Diaspora: Diaspora, State and the Imagination of the Republic of Armenia -
Ermeni Sorunu Temel Bilgi ve Belgeler (2. Baskı)
-
CONFERENCE TITLED “HUNGARY’S PERSPECTIVES ON THE TURKIC WORLD"