20 June 2018•Update: 20 June 2018
By Sinan Uslu
ANKARA
A former U.S. assistant secretary of defense was grilled Tuesday by a TRT World anchor following his remarks that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan would not receive the majority of votes in the June 24 presidential election.
"I don't think he [Erdogan] is going to get a majority," said Lawrence Korb, who appeared on Tuesday's Newsmakers program, which discussed Turkey’s upcoming presidential and general elections.
Following Korb's remarks, Imran Garda said: "You said you don't think he is going to get a majority. He cannot be a really good dictator then, can he?
"If he is not going to get the votes, that is democracy, isn't it? He is doing a bad job being a dictator if he might not get the votes," Garda said.
Voters in Turkey will head to the polls on June 24, less than a week away.
If the presidential election goes to a second round, voters will go to the polls again on July 8.
Responding to Garda's question, Korb said he agreed.
"But the real question is what does he do then, if he doesn’t get the votes?” he said, alleging that Erdogan would "try lock up more of his political opponents" if he wins the runoff.
Regarding Korb's allegation, Garda said: "Have you got any evidence that he has locked up political opponents that have defeated him in the election?"
He could not get an answer, however.
Six candidates are running for president while eight political parties are taking part in the parliamentary elections.
Erdogan has served as president since 2014 -- Turkey's first popularly elected president. Before that, he served as prime minister from 2003 to 2014. If reelected on Sunday, he would be Turkey's first president under its new presidential system of government.
