Voters head to the polls in Turkey’s most important election in two decades as longtime leader Recep Tayyip Erdoğan seeks to fend off a united opposition led by Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu.
Polls opened at 8 a.m. Ankara time on Sunday for the presidential and parliamentary elections that offer two very divergent paths for Turkey.
Erdogan, who first brought his Justice and Development Party (AKP) to power in 2002, is having his toughest campaign as he battles with Kılıçdaroğlu, who represents a six-party opposition alliance. The results will have global resonance as Turkey, a member of NATO, has played an increasingly important role on the international scene in recent years.
Kılıçdaroğlu pledged to revive Turkey’s struggling economy, bring the country closer to Western orbit and restore crucial institutions that were undermined during Erdoğan’s long tenure, first as prime minister and now as president.
The 74-year-old opposition leader has campaigned regularly with other popular politicians who are part of the “table of six” coalition, including the mayors of Turkey’s biggest cities, Istanbul and Ankara.
Polls released in recent days have given Kılıçdaroğlu an edge over his 69-year-old opponent, with Erdoğan’s handling of the country’s $900 billion economy having badly shaken his support. But analysts and even senior opposition figures warn against underestimating Erdoğan, who has dominated Turkish politics like no one else since Mustafa Kemal Atatürk founded the republic a century ago.
“It’s all up in the air,” said Ali Çarkoğlu, a political science professor at Istanbul’s Koç University, who added that Turkey remained “deeply divided over identity issues.”
Erdoğan, whose final campaign stop on Saturday was to attend evening prayers at Istanbul’s Hagia Sophia mosque, remains popular with conservative and pious voters in the heartland of Turkey’s Anatolia.
At fiery campaign rallies, Erdoğan portrayed himself as the only person capable of securing a prosperous future for Turkey and upholding family values. He also accused Kılıçdaroğlu, a member of the minority Alevi sect in predominantly Sunni Turkey, of being a “drunkard”.
In a sign of the pressure Erdoğan faces in this hotly contested race, the president claimed on Saturday without evidence that the opposition was working with US President Joe Biden.
“Biden gave the instruction that ‘we have to bring down Erdoğan.’ I know that. All my people know that,” Erdoğan said.
In recent weeks, Erdoğan has raised wages for public sector workers, offered consumers a month of free natural gas, handed out 10 GB of internet to students and witnessed the opening of new facilities that he said would boost the Turkey’s energy independence and give it a more important role. on the world stage.
Analysts said that while Erdoğan’s handouts and sway over large swaths of the media meant the election campaign had not been fair, Election Day should be mostly free.
Still, many remain worried about whether Erdoğan would relinquish power if he loses, especially if the results are close.
Late Friday, Erdoğan vowed to respect the outcome, saying in a TV interview: “We came to power democratically in Turkey, just as we came to power with the support of the people, if our people make a different decision, we will everything democracy needs.”
Twitter said on Saturday that in response to a “legal process” it would “restrict access to certain content in Turkey”. Owner Elon Musk later tweeted that his company was faced with the choice of the website being “throttled in its entirety or limiting access to certain tweets”, and that he would share what the government had sent. to Twitter.
Among the content that users in Turkey were unable to see were accounts with many followers who accused Erdoğan of corruption.
Either Erdoğan or Kılıçdaroğlu must get more than half of the vote to win the election or it will see an unprecedented runoff in two weeks. Muharrem Ince, a candidate from a minor party dropped out of the race on Thursday, but his name will remain on the ballots. Sinan Oğan, another candidate from the small party, is still in the running for the election.
Turks will also vote in the general elections on Sunday, which could upset the balance of power. An alliance between Erdoğan’s AKP and the ultra-nationalist Nationalist Movement party holds the majority in the legislature.
additional reporting by Ayla Jean Yackley
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