By Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the President of Turkey, said the nation will hold elections for both parliament and president on May 4, 2023. He made this announcement in a meeting held with the youth in north-western Bursa Province. He urged the country’s youth to make the right decision and exercise their right to vote in the upcoming elections.
Pilgrimage to Mecca
Previously, the nation decided to hold the elections on June 18, 2022. The president will release a decree on March 10, 2023, as per the latest BNN News, to hold the elections on May 14. However, he has not ruled out rescheduling the elections, considering vacations, university exams, and pilgrimages to Mecca. More than 100,000 Turks expect to visit Mecca this year.
Erdogan will run for President
The Nationalist Movement Party (NMP) and the Justice and Development Party decided to project the incumbent president as their candidate for the upcoming elections. The presidential candidate of the opposition parties is yet to be named.
Protests by Turkish Nationals Against the Quran’s Burning
People in Turkey showed their anger against the burning of the Quran in Sweden for the second consecutive day, taking the tensions between the two nations to a new low. Around 250 Turkish nationals burned the photo of Rasmus Paludan, a Danish anti-Islamist activist, in front of the Swedish Consulate in Istanbul.
Condemns state-supported Islamophobia
Rasmus Paludan burned the holy book of Islam on Saturday against the Stockholm-based Turkish Embassy. It sparked protests in Ankara and Istanbul on Saturday night. In Sunday’s protest, the Turkish nationals showed flags that feature the strong faith of Islam. The participants condemned state-sponsored Islamophobia in Sweden. However, the writing on the window of a consulate in Sweden does not support such an event.
Recent protests have reignited concerns about Turkey’s opposition to Finland and Sweden joining NATO. Turkey has not lifted its opposition to their bid to join the US-led military alliance. It says Sweden first needs to consider its security concerns.
Erdogan has not responded to the Quran-burning issue in Sweden. However, the officials of Turkey slammed the authorities in Sweden for allowing the protest and burning of their holy book and hurting their religious sentiments.
In the latest world news, Ulf Kristersson, the Prime Minister of Sweden, said in a tweet on Saturday night that freedom of expression is key to democracy. However, what is thought to be legal may not be right. Kristersson said it was not appropriate to burn the holy books and disrespect all Muslims. He expressed sympathy to all the Muslims who were hurt by that event in Stockholm.
One of the protesters in Istanbul said you should not think the act of burning the holy book is an act of freedom of speech. The men kept the Quran high in the mosque after the prayers in Sanliurfa province. They shared a video online with the message that God is great. More protests are expected on Sunday.
Protests in Stockholm
Protests against the country’s bid to join NATO and Turkey were held in Stockholm on Saturday. They burned a copy of the Quran, which heightens the tensions between the two nations at a time when the support of Turkey is instrumental in the Nordic nations’ bid to join the US-led military alliance.
