ANKARA
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has criticized the opposition for objecting to his participation in rallies just weeks before the June 7 elections in Turkey.
Addressing a rally in Turkey's northeastern city of Rize in the Black Sea region Monday afternoon, Erdogan said: "Some say the president must be impartial. What did I say before the presidential elections? I said that I am partial. But, I am on the side of the people."
He said that his critics did not know the constitution.
"How can you deprive me of being seen in public? How can you prevent a president who rose from among these people," he asked.
Opposition politicians have approached the Turkish Constitutional Court, urging it stop Erdogan’s rallies in the run-up to the elections.
Turkey’s electoral laws ban the president from openly supporting any political party.
Erdogan has been giving speeches across Turkey and abroad, during which he has often promoted the presidential system to replace the current parliamentary system.
Erdogan also commented on Turkey's head of religious affairs Mehmet Gormez announcement last week that he would return an official car.
"If I had known earlier, I would say why you [Mehmet Gormez] are selling the Mercedes. What is the price of this Mercedes? Why are you taking the headlines of newspapers seriously," Erdogan said.
Turkish media had alleged that Gormez bought a Mercedes worth a million Turkish liras ($368,500) for his personal use, which sparked a controversy and questions were raised whether the head of the Presidency of Religious Affairs should use such an expensive car at public expense.
The Presidency of Religious Affairs had denied the report and said that the car had been bought using money from the Turkish Diyanet Foundation's budget, which came under the religious affairs.
“This car is a grave for me and I do not want to enter a grave,” Gormez had said, adding that he did not use the car for "a single day."
