Erdogan slams int'l media for 'sneaky' articles on Turkish elections

Türkiye's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has slammed international media outlets for trying to influence local public opinion with "sneaky" articles on the country's upcoming elections.

"International media organizations, which do not even properly deal with the elections in their own countries, follow the election process in Türkiye every day," Erdogan said at an event in the western Denizli province on Saturday.

"They even go beyond following them and try to guide the public with their despicable headlines and sneaky articles they publish."

Erdogan added: "Of course, we are aware of what bothers them, why they attack us, why they meddle in the elections in our country."

His remarks follow a recent article published by the London-based weekly The Economist, calling on outsiders to pay attention to Türkiye's upcoming elections and claiming that the country is "on the brink of disaster" under Erdogan.

Later, Erdogan lambasted The Economist, saying: "The British magazine cannot determine the fate of Türkiye."

Previously, Erdogan said May 14 is the "most suitable" date for holding the next parliamentary and presidential elections.

As Türkiye’s head of the government since 2003 – first as prime minister and then since 2014 as president – Erdogan added the country will experience "one of the most critical" elections in its history on May 14.

READ MORE: Türkiye slams 'cheap propaganda' of British weekly The Economist

Pointless arrogance

Meanwhile, Turkish ambassador to London, Buyukelci Yalcin, in his letter published in The Economist, criticised the weekly for its article published on January 21.

"Labelling the prospect of the re-election of Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who has been elected many times through a free and popular vote, as a "dictatorship" is utterly wrong and unfair," Yalcin wrote.

"Moreover, calling upon "Western leaders" to act over some baseless assumptions and underestimating the free will of Turkish voters is pointless arrogance, to say the least," he said.

READ MORE: Türkiye's senior official pens letter, slams anti-Erdogan op-ed