Turkish opposition dares to dream of Erdogan defeat

Turkey’s all-powerful President Erdogan is in the battle of his life against the united opposition in the run-up to Sunday’s elections.

His chief rival, Kemal Kilicdaroglu, appeared before a throngs of supporters on Friday, accompanied by an allies across the political spectrum more concentrated than ever before.

As rain poured down in Ankara, he vowed to restore “peace and democracy.”

Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the man he wants voters to step down for the first time in 20 years, has kept Turkey steadfast despite many challenges, including an inflation-ridden economy and two devastating earthquakes in February. said he came.

Both men dominate this frenetic campaign in both the president and Congress.

The 74-year-old opposition leader, often described as soft-spoken, said his best hope so far was to take power back from a president who took power from parliament and dramatically increased his own power. He delivered a powerful speech to a believing audience. .

Kirikdaroglu has a slight lead in the polls, with his supporters saying he could win outright with more than 50% of the vote on Sunday, rather than in the runoff two weeks later. I dared to dream

Firat, one of five million first-time voters, said he was happy to have conservatives and nationalists on the same stage as the leader of the center-left Republican People’s Party (CHP). .

Here was nationalist Meral Axener, the only female leader of the six-strong coalition, as well as Temer Karamoraoglu, who heads the pro-Islamist Felicity Party.

Kirikdaroglu’s party is secular at heart, but has worked hard to reach out to women who wear headscarves. The six parties rallied under the slogan will do Campaign song with the same name as (Come on!).

With tensions so high ahead of the vote, he is believed to have worn a bulletproof vest on stage in Ankara and at other events earlier.

The race is extremely important and tense at the same time. Muharrem Inse, one of four presidential candidates, withdrew on Thursday, complaining he was targeted on social media with deepfake sex videos that “manipulated voters.”

Erdogan, who maintains ties with President Vladimir Putin, warned his rivals: “If you attack Putin, I will not tolerate it.”

The president had been addressing party supporters in Istanbul the previous night in a city of half a million people on the outskirts of the capital, who appeared to fully support his AK party.

Orange, blue and white party AKP flags fluttered in central Sinkan, and locals filled the streets to get a glimpse of Erdogan.

Supporters sang party songs as they waited for the green-jacketed president to take the stage.One chorus rang out repeatedly Recep Tayyip Erd Gaan.

“We built schools, universities, hospitals and changed the face of cities. We drilled our own gas and oil,” Erdogan cheered as he told thousands of supporters. rice field.

His strategy, first as prime minister and then as president, was to build growth through visible and expensive construction projects in many large cities, but less so in Sincan.

The party still enjoys strong support, but he relies on the support of the nationalist MHP and other smaller groups within the People’s League.

His biggest supporters are mostly conservative and nationalist Turks, and his rhetoric is aimed at the LGBT community as well as Western countries that accuse him of being against him.

“The AK Party does not allow LGBT people to enter their neighborhoods, and the MHP does not allow them to join the People’s Alliance because we believe in the sanctity of the family.”

These political alliances are essential under Turkey’s political system, as it takes 7% of the referendum for a political party to win a seat in parliament or be part of an alliance to win a seat.

Whoever wins the presidency will need sufficient support in Congress to support the plan.

During a campaign campaign in Ankara, center-left candidate Aysen Palari Koktas said the economy and the impact of the earthquake were the most important issues in the election, but the future of Turkey’s democracy and people’s rights were equally important.

“We don’t want to feel scared when we tweet, and that’s especially true for young people,” she said.

But AK party candidate Zehranur Aydemir, 25, believes young voters are being treated very well by the government. “We have young people at all levels in our party.”

More than 64 million people at home and abroad are expected to vote on Sunday.

A candidate must win more than half the votes to win outright.

If no candidate receives at least 50% plus 1 vote in the first round, the presidential election will be held on May 28 between the two with the most votes in the second round. increase.