ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The Kremlin on Friday denied a claim by Turkey’s opposition leader that Russia had interfered in presidential and parliamentary elections.
Turkish opposition candidate Kemal Kilicdaroglu, tweeting in both Russian and Turkish on Thursday, accused Russia of being behind what he called fabricated videos, conspiracies, and deep fake content ahead of Sunday’s vote. Kilicdaroglu warned Russia to take its hands off Turkey if they want their friendship to continue.
“We resolutely reject such statements. We officially declare that there can be no talk of any interference,” said Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov, adding that he does not know the source of the accusation.
“If someone provided Mr Kilicdaroglu with such information, then they are liars,” he said.
Kilicdaroglu told Reuters on Friday that he would not have levelled such a charge if he did not have concrete evidence, though he did not provide details about the source of his information.
At least two recent videos have impacted Turkey’s hotly contested elections.
A sex tape allegedly of presidential candidate Muharrem Ince circulated on social media platforms and prompted him to withdraw from the race. In a press conference on Thursday, Ince said he was the victim of a smear campaign and character assassination.
At his campaign rallies, the incumbent president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, has played a video that appears to depict a top military commander of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) throwing his support behind Kilicdaroglu. The PKK is labelled a terrorist organisation in Turkey. A DW investigation concluded that the footage had been manipulated.
Gençlere sesleniyorum. Utanmadan montajlı içeriklerle sizlere kara propaganda yapan biri var. Eşik işte buradadır. Halep oradaysa, arşın buradadır. https://t.co/IteUzJMQGN
— Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu (@kilicdarogluk) May 12, 2023
Turkish presidential and parliamentary elections will take place on Sunday. Erdogan faces his toughest challenge in two decades as his popularity has slumped amid an economic crisis, soaring cost of living and inflation, and the aftermath of February’s devastating earthquake.
On Friday, ORC research firm, which accurately predicted the results of the 2018 presidential election, released the result of their latest poll that predicts Kilicdaroglu winning the race in the first round.
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