Turkish Youth Vow ‘No Votes’ for Erdogan during Live Stream

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan held a youth outreach live stream during which a number of participants attacked him, which led to the suspension of comments.

Erdogan faced widespread rejection by the youth during the live stream ahead of the weekend’s university entrance exams.

The Turkish presidency organized the stream to address the youth’s questions about unemployment and other important issues.

The organizers were surprised by the angry comments that reached 342,000 against the president, vowing to bring down Erdogan and his party in the upcoming presidential and parliamentary elections.

The disapproving comments flooded the feed and exceeded the number of Erdogan’s supporters, with many saying, “no votes for you” and “we’ll meet at the ballots.”

The president’s social media team then turned off the live comments and Erdogan wished a successful and brilliant future for the youth.

The Justice and Development ruling party (AK) accused the outlawed movement of US-based preacher Fethullah Gulen of launching the e-campaign against him.

It said that members of the movement masterminded a failed coup attempt against Erdogan in 2016, and orchestrated the live broadcast scandal to damage Erdogan’s image.

Former presidential candidate of the Republican People’s Party (CHP), Muharrem Ince, mocked the incident, sarcastically asking youths not to press the “dislike button so much, or they will cut off your Internet.”

Former Prime Minister and head of the opposition Future Party, Ahmet Davutoglu, also mocked turning off the live chat, asserting that he always answers all the questions of the youth on his site, and the comments feature is always available.

Separately, the Istanbul Bar Association called for a “March for Defense” on Tuesday to protest against a proposed legislation prepared by AK, in coordination with People’s Alliance, to amend electoral laws for bar associations and professional chambers.

Head of Istanbul Bar Association Mehmet Durakoglu urged the participation of all member-lawyers, stressing that everyone is obliged to attend and gather in front of the court.

The planned protest comes after authorities forcibly prevented similar marches in various Turkish regions from reaching Mustafa Kemal Ataturk’s mausoleum in Ankara last week.