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ISTANBUL: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan will perform Saturday prayers at the Istanbul icon Aya Sofia mosque, before a battle for his political life against a powerful secular rival.
The 69-year-old man will simulate one of the rituals Ottoman Sultans They performed before leading their men to war as he prepares for Sunday’s parliamentary and presidential elections.
Erdogan has never faced a more energetic or united opposition than that led by retired civil servant Kemal Kilicdaroglu and his disparate six-party coalition.
The Turkish leader has excelled at dividing his rivals and creating unlikely unions while winning one national election after another over the course of 21 years.
But his Islamist-rooted party is grieving over Turkey’s economic collapse and the suppression of civil liberties during the second decade of Erdogan’s rule.
Putting aside their political and cultural differences, the six opposition parties joined forces for the sole mission of ousting Erdogan.
They are officially supported by Turkey’s main pro-Kurdish party – a group that accounts for at least 10 percent of the vote.
The math does not count in Erdogan’s favor, and most opinion polls show him trailing his secular opponent by a few points.
Kilicdaroglu is now desperately trying to break the 50 percent threshold and avoid a May 28 runoff that might give Erdoğan a chance to regroup and reframe the debate.
“Are you ready to bring democracy to this country? To bring peace to this country? I promise you, I am ready too,” Kilicdaroglu said at a rally in Ankara.
Erdogan was put in an uncomfortable position on television on Friday night when he was asked what he would do if he lost.
The veteran leader was infuriated and vowed to respect the vote.
“That’s a very silly question,” he said.
“We came to power in Turkey by democratic means, with the consent of our people. If our people change their minds, we will do what democracy requires.”
His campaign path for re-election will take him to the scene Saturday of one of the most controversial decisions of his final term in office.
Hagia Sophia was built as a Byzantine cathedral – once the largest cathedral in the world – before being converted into a mosque by the Ottomans.
It was converted into a museum when Mustafa Kemal Ataturk created a secular, post-Ottoman Turkey in 1923.
Erdogan’s decision to convert it into a mosque in 2020 cemented his status as a hero among his religious supporters and contributed to growing Western concern with his rule.
“The entire West got angry – but I did it,” Erdogan said at a rally in Istanbul on Saturday.
Erdogan has toyed with religious issues and used culture wars to try to energize his nationalist and conservative base.
He classifies the opposition as a “pro-LGBT” lobby that takes orders from outlawed Kurdish militants and is funded by the West.
The stern message appears intended to distract voters from Turkey’s most dire economic crisis during his entire reign.
The official annual inflation rate was 85 percent last year. Economists believe the real figure could have been much higher and blame the crisis on Erdogan’s unorthodox financial theories.
Kilicdaroglu vows to get rid of them as soon as he takes office.
But the rigors of choice facing Turkey’s 64 million voters are accompanied by heightened tensions and lingering fears about what Erdogan will do if he loses a narrow vote.
Kilicdaroglu wore a bulletproof vest at the two rallies held on Friday after receiving what his party described as a real threat to his life.
He gave an uncharacteristically short evening speech in Ankara that was originally promoted by his campaign.
Kilicdaroglu’s running mate, Ekrem Imamoglu, a well-known figure who defeated Erdogan’s ally in the controversial Istanbul mayoral election in 2019, was pelted with stones a few days ago while touring the conservative heart of Turkey.
Turkish officials launched an official investigation and made some arrests.
But several senior officials in Erdogan’s ruling party accused the mayor of Istanbul of instigating the incident.
The vote will include the southeastern regions, which became devastated in the wake of the February earthquake that killed more than 50,000 people.
The level of anger in these areas traditionally loyal to Erdogan could also help turn around Sunday’s results.
“We are not happy to vote in the rubble, but we want to change the government,” said Debre Simsik, a resident of the city of Antakya, which was badly damaged in the disaster.
The 69-year-old man will simulate one of the rituals Ottoman Sultans They performed before leading their men to war as he prepares for Sunday’s parliamentary and presidential elections.
Erdogan has never faced a more energetic or united opposition than that led by retired civil servant Kemal Kilicdaroglu and his disparate six-party coalition.
The Turkish leader has excelled at dividing his rivals and creating unlikely unions while winning one national election after another over the course of 21 years.
But his Islamist-rooted party is grieving over Turkey’s economic collapse and the suppression of civil liberties during the second decade of Erdogan’s rule.
Putting aside their political and cultural differences, the six opposition parties joined forces for the sole mission of ousting Erdogan.
They are officially supported by Turkey’s main pro-Kurdish party – a group that accounts for at least 10 percent of the vote.
The math does not count in Erdogan’s favor, and most opinion polls show him trailing his secular opponent by a few points.
Kilicdaroglu is now desperately trying to break the 50 percent threshold and avoid a May 28 runoff that might give Erdoğan a chance to regroup and reframe the debate.
“Are you ready to bring democracy to this country? To bring peace to this country? I promise you, I am ready too,” Kilicdaroglu said at a rally in Ankara.
Erdogan was put in an uncomfortable position on television on Friday night when he was asked what he would do if he lost.
The veteran leader was infuriated and vowed to respect the vote.
“That’s a very silly question,” he said.
“We came to power in Turkey by democratic means, with the consent of our people. If our people change their minds, we will do what democracy requires.”
His campaign path for re-election will take him to the scene Saturday of one of the most controversial decisions of his final term in office.
Hagia Sophia was built as a Byzantine cathedral – once the largest cathedral in the world – before being converted into a mosque by the Ottomans.
It was converted into a museum when Mustafa Kemal Ataturk created a secular, post-Ottoman Turkey in 1923.
Erdogan’s decision to convert it into a mosque in 2020 cemented his status as a hero among his religious supporters and contributed to growing Western concern with his rule.
“The entire West got angry – but I did it,” Erdogan said at a rally in Istanbul on Saturday.
Erdogan has toyed with religious issues and used culture wars to try to energize his nationalist and conservative base.
He classifies the opposition as a “pro-LGBT” lobby that takes orders from outlawed Kurdish militants and is funded by the West.
The stern message appears intended to distract voters from Turkey’s most dire economic crisis during his entire reign.
The official annual inflation rate was 85 percent last year. Economists believe the real figure could have been much higher and blame the crisis on Erdogan’s unorthodox financial theories.
Kilicdaroglu vows to get rid of them as soon as he takes office.
But the rigors of choice facing Turkey’s 64 million voters are accompanied by heightened tensions and lingering fears about what Erdogan will do if he loses a narrow vote.
Kilicdaroglu wore a bulletproof vest at the two rallies held on Friday after receiving what his party described as a real threat to his life.
He gave an uncharacteristically short evening speech in Ankara that was originally promoted by his campaign.
Kilicdaroglu’s running mate, Ekrem Imamoglu, a well-known figure who defeated Erdogan’s ally in the controversial Istanbul mayoral election in 2019, was pelted with stones a few days ago while touring the conservative heart of Turkey.
Turkish officials launched an official investigation and made some arrests.
But several senior officials in Erdogan’s ruling party accused the mayor of Istanbul of instigating the incident.
The vote will include the southeastern regions, which became devastated in the wake of the February earthquake that killed more than 50,000 people.
The level of anger in these areas traditionally loyal to Erdogan could also help turn around Sunday’s results.
“We are not happy to vote in the rubble, but we want to change the government,” said Debre Simsik, a resident of the city of Antakya, which was badly damaged in the disaster.
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