US to Attempt Coup in Turkiye During Presidential Election, Says Turkish Interior Minister

© AP Photo / Khalil HamraA woman affiliated to the Turkish AK ruling party, displays Turkish flags, balloons and pictures of Turkish President and People's Alliance's presidential candidate Recep Tayyip Erdogan, as part of the presidential elections campaign, in Balat neighbourhood, Istanbul, Turkey, Monday, May 1, 2023.
A woman affiliated to the Turkish AK ruling party, displays Turkish flags, balloons and pictures of Turkish President and People's Alliance's presidential candidate Recep Tayyip Erdogan, as part of the presidential elections campaign, in Balat neighbourhood, Istanbul, Turkey, Monday, May 1, 2023.  - Sputnik Africa, 1920, 04.05.2023
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ISTANBUL (Sputnik) – Turkish Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu said on Wednesday that on May 14, the United States will attempt to finish the coup d'etat they tried during the 2016 presidential election.
"They failed to do it during the attempted coup; now they will try it again during the election. [Will it be] only here [in Turkiye]? They tried to do it in Hungary. [Hungarian President Viktor] Orban threw [George] Soros out of Hungary; they nominated three candidates [for the presidency] against Orban," he said in an interview with Habertürk TV channel.
Soylu added that Hungarian Interior Minister Sandor Pinter had warned him about the US providing financial support for Turkish non-governmental organizations in order to interfere with the upcoming election.

He also accused the US of orchestrating coups in Turkiye in 1960 and 1971.

The minister said that there was a recording of a meeting between a person "now making many statements" with an ambassador "of one interested country," who was briefed on "how to make a mess" four months prior by his interior minister during the latter's visit to Turkiye. However, Soylu refused to name the country and the person in question.
Soylu expressed confidence that incumbent President Recep Tayyip Erdogan would easily win the presidential election already in the first round of vote.
"God willing, we will finish in the first round, it is evident from the polls. [Kemal] Kilicdaroglu and the Republican People's Party are behind us," the minister said.
He noted, however, that no one knows what might happen in Turkiye in the 11 days remaining before the election.
People wait before Kemal Kilicdaroglu, the leader of the pro-secular, center-left Republican People's Party, or CHP, is nominated by a six-party alliance as its common candidate to challenge President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, in Ankara, Turkey, March 6, 2023. - Sputnik Africa, 1920, 22.04.2023
Turkish Interior Minister Accuses US of Trying to Create 'Terrorist State' Near Turkey
Meanwhile, a poll conducted by Turkish company Ivem showed that Erdogan could win the second round 3% ahead of the opposing candidate.
Presidential and parliamentary elections are scheduled to be held in Turkiye on May 14. Kemal Kilicdaroglu, put forward by a seven-party opposition alliance, is considered Erdogan's main opponent. The list of presidential candidates also includes Ince and Sinan Ogan of the ATA Alliance. If none of them manages to win more than 50% of the votes, a second round will be scheduled on May 28.
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