The vote will decide not only who will lead Turkey, a NATO member of 85 million people, but also how it is governed, where the country’s economy heads amid a crisis in the cost of worsening life, and the shape of its foreign policy which took unexpected turns.
Opinion polls show Erdogan’s main rival, Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, leading an alliance of six opposition parties, with a slight lead. But if either fails to secure more than 50% of the vote, a runoff will be held on May 28, according to Reuters.
The elections come 3 months after earthquakes in southeastern Turkey claimed the lives of more than 50,000 people. Many residents of affected provinces have expressed anger over the government’s slow initial response to the disaster, but there is little evidence the issue has changed people’s voting attitudes.
Voters will also choose a new parliament, and there will likely be a close race between the “People’s Alliance,” made up of Erdoğan’s Islamist-conservative Justice and Development Party, the right-wing Nationalist Movement Party and others, and the six-party “Nation Alliance”. Opposition, including the Republican People’s Party founded by Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the founder of modern Turkey.
Voting centers open at eight in the morning and close at five in the evening. Under Turkish electoral law, it is forbidden to announce the results before 9 p.m. By the end of Sunday, there could be a good indication of the holding of a second round in the presidential election.
Kurdish voters, who make up 15-20% of the electorate, will play a central role, and the National Alliance alone is unlikely to secure a parliamentary majority.
The pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) is not part of the main opposition alliance, but it strongly opposes Erdogan after its members have been cracked down in recent years.
The party announced its support for Kilicdaroglu in the presidential race. He is running in the legislative elections under the banner of the small Green Left Party due to a lawsuit brought by a top prosecutor seeking to ban the HDP for its links with Kurdish activists, which the party denies.
end of an era?
Erdoğan, 69, is a powerful orator and activist, who gave his best during the campaign as he struggled to pass his toughest political test. It commands strong loyalty from religious Turks who at one time felt disenfranchised in secular Turkey. His political life survived a 2016 coup attempt and several corruption scandals.
However, if the Turks overthrow Erdogan, it will largely be because they have seen their prosperity, equality and ability to meet basic needs deteriorate with an inflation rate exceeding 85% in October 2022, as well as the collapse of the lira.
As for Kilicdaroglu, 74, a former civil servant who promises that if he wins, he will return to traditional economic policies.
He also says he will seek to return the country to a parliamentary system of government, from Erdogan’s executive presidential system adopted in a referendum in 2017. He also promised to restore the independence of the judiciary, which critics say Erdogan used to suppress dissent.
During his tenure in power, Erdogan firmly controlled most Turkish institutions and warded off liberals and critics. Human Rights Watch said in its 2022 World Report that Erdogan’s government has undermined Turkey’s human rights record for decades.
If Kilicdaroglu wins, he will face challenges to maintain a unified opposition coalition that includes nationalists, Islamists, secularists and liberals.
Read the Latest World News Today on The Eastern Herald.
