By Mehmet Tosun

RIZE, Turkey

Turkish president on Wednesday criticized the opposition parties for failing to provide best of their services to the country.

Addressing an election rally in northwestern Rize province, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said: “We can overcome the current deficit with the help of God. The biggest deficit of our country today is the deficiency in the opposition [parties]."

“We will deal with it, as well,” he added.

Erdogan said Turkish opposition haven’t made a progress in its quality over the last 16 years.

The president also criticized the main opposition Republican People’s Party’s (CHP) presidential candidate Muharrem Ince for his “hypocrisy.”

Reminding that Ince had once signed for a ban on head-scarf, Erdogan said the main opposition’s candidate is trying to gain support of different segments of the society, including religious, nationalists and conservatives.

“This is not politics; this is spinelessness and hypocrisy,” Erdogan said.

Last April, the parliament passed a bill for early elections on June 24, cementing Turkey’s move to a presidential system.

In the April 2017 referendum, Turkish voters had approved the switch from a parliamentary system to a presidential one.

Erdogan has served as president since 2014 -- Turkey's first popularly elected president. Before that, he served as prime minister, from 2003 to 2014.