Erdoğan says state of emergency may be lifted after elections

Erdoğan said a state of emergency that has been in place nationwide since the July 2016 failed coup could be lifted after the election
Friday, 08 June 2018 18:50

Turkey's state of emergency, in place since a failed coup two years ago, could be lifted after elections this month, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said Thursday. 

"After the elections, we will discuss the state of emergency in detail and there could be the question of lifting it," Erdoğan said during a televised interview broadcast late Thursday.

He declared the state of emergency after another Islamist group tried to depose him two years ago. 

The state of emergency declared to restructure the state or to "cleanse" the members of Gülen group, one of the masterminds of the coup attempt, is not marked by the purge in the army or the jurisdiction, but it was marked by the opportunities offered to the bourgeoisie.

Erdoğan has previously insisted that the emergency measures would not be lifted until the "terrorist threat" is completely eliminated from the country. State of emergency guards against terrorism and prevents workers from going out on strike, Erdoğan said. "The state of emergency is a solution for us to prevent workers’ strike at factories," he also said.

CHP CANDIDATE: EMERGENCY RULE MUST BE LIFTED TO LURE FOREIGN INVESTMENTS

The emergency rule must be lifted if Turkey is to attract foreign investors, main opposition Republican People’s Party’s (CHP) presidential candidate Muharrem İnce said at a rally held on May 30 in the central Anatolian province of Kırıkkale.

İnce also suggested that ending emergency rule would help the Turkish lira gain value against the United States dollar and the euro.

"If you re-elect Erdoğan, the U.S. dollar/lira rate will hit 10 liras," the CHP candidate said.

"Foreign countries do not trust Turkey, thus they do not invest in our country. When Turkey becomes a country of the rule law, foreign investors will invest thus the lira will gain value," İnce told his supporters.

The currency had tumbled in May to a record low of 4.9290 against the dollar.