{"id":6907,"date":"2023-05-13T17:31:25","date_gmt":"2023-05-13T16:31:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/londonpost.news\/?p=6907"},"modified":"2023-05-13T17:34:47","modified_gmt":"2023-05-13T16:34:47","slug":"turkeys-campaign-for-crucial-elections-ends-votes-looming","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/fr\/politics\/turkeys-campaign-for-crucial-elections-ends-votes-looming\/2023\/05\/13\/admin1\/","title":{"rendered":"Turkey’s campaign for crucial elections ends, votes looming"},"content":{"rendered":"

ISTANBUL<\/span> (AFP<\/span>)<\/span> –<\/span> Turkish<\/span> politicians<\/span> hold<\/span> crucial<\/span> presidential<\/span> and<\/span> parliamentary<\/span> elections<\/span> that<\/span> could<\/span> have<\/span> a<\/span> big<\/span> impact<\/span> on<\/span> the<\/span> future<\/span> of<\/span> the<\/span> NATO<\/span> member<\/span> states<\/span> before<\/span> the<\/span> so-called<\/span> propaganda<\/span> ban<\/span> takes<\/span> effect.<\/span> A<\/span> final<\/span> rally<\/span> was<\/span> held<\/span> at<\/span> the<\/span> end<\/span> of<\/span> the<\/span> election<\/span> campaign<\/span> on<\/span> Saturday,<\/span> the<\/span> night<\/span> before<\/span> the<\/span> election.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>President<\/span> Recep<\/span> Tayyip<\/span> Erdogan,<\/span> facing<\/span> the<\/span> biggest<\/span> challenge<\/span> in<\/span> history<\/span> in<\/span> his<\/span> 20<\/span> years<\/span> in<\/span> office,<\/span> addressed<\/span> three<\/span> neighborhood<\/span> rallies<\/span> in<\/span> Istanbul,<\/span> Turkey’s<\/span> largest<\/span> city.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>His<\/span> main<\/span> challenger<\/span> is<\/span> the<\/span> pro-secular<\/span> center-left<\/span> CHP<\/span> (Republican<\/span> People’s<\/span> Party)<\/span> Kemal<\/span> Kirikdaroglu,<\/span> co-candidate<\/span> of<\/span> the<\/span> six<\/span> opposition<\/span> parties.<\/span> On<\/span> Friday,<\/span> he<\/span> held<\/span> his<\/span> final<\/span> rally<\/span> in<\/span> the<\/span> capital,<\/span> Ankara,<\/span> in<\/span> torrential<\/span> rain.<\/span> On<\/span> Saturday,<\/span> he<\/span> and<\/span> some<\/span> of<\/span> his<\/span> supporters<\/span> visited<\/span> the<\/span> mausoleum<\/span> of<\/span> Mustafa<\/span> Kemal<\/span> Ataturk,<\/span> founder<\/span> of<\/span> modern<\/span> Turkey<\/span> and<\/span> CHP.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>On<\/span> Friday,<\/span> Erdogan<\/span> dismissed<\/span> speculation<\/span> that<\/span> he<\/span> wouldn’t<\/span> cede<\/span> power<\/span> if<\/span> he<\/span> lost,<\/span> calling<\/span> the<\/span> question<\/span> \u201cvery<\/span> ridiculous.\u201d<\/span> In<\/span> an<\/span> interview<\/span> with<\/span> more<\/span> than<\/span> a<\/span> dozen<\/span> Turkish<\/span> broadcasters,<\/span> Erdogan<\/span> said<\/span> he<\/span> came<\/span> to<\/span> power<\/span> through<\/span> democracy<\/span> and<\/span> would<\/span> act<\/span> in<\/span> line<\/span> with<\/span> the<\/span> democratic<\/span> process.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>\u201cIf<\/span> our<\/span> nation<\/span> decides<\/span> to<\/span> make<\/span> such<\/span> a<\/span> different<\/span> decision,<\/span> we<\/span> will<\/span> do<\/span> exactly<\/span> what’s<\/span> required<\/span> by<\/span> democracy<\/span> and<\/span> there’s<\/span> nothing<\/span> else<\/span> to<\/span> do,\u201d<\/span> he<\/span> said.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>Erdogan<\/span> said<\/span> Saturday<\/span> that<\/span> he<\/span> viewed<\/span> the<\/span> elections<\/span> as<\/span> a<\/span> \u201ccelebration<\/span> of<\/span> democracy<\/span> for<\/span> our<\/span> country’s<\/span> future.\u201d<\/span> He<\/span> showcased<\/span> his<\/span> government’s<\/span> defense<\/span> and<\/span> infrastructure<\/span> investments<\/span> and<\/span> aired<\/span> videos<\/span> trying<\/span> to<\/span> undermine<\/span> his<\/span> opponent<\/span> as<\/span> incapable<\/span> of<\/span> leading<\/span> Turkey,<\/span> while<\/span> claiming<\/span> he<\/span> was<\/span> colluding<\/span> with<\/span> terror<\/span> groups.<\/span> He<\/span> also<\/span> argued<\/span> the<\/span> opposition<\/span> was<\/span> pro-LGBTQ<\/span> and<\/span> therefore<\/span> anti-family<\/span> in<\/span> a<\/span> now<\/span> regular<\/span> targeting<\/span> of<\/span> LGBTQ<\/span> people<\/span> in<\/span> Turkey.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>The<\/span> opposition’s<\/span> campaign<\/span> was<\/span> continued<\/span> by<\/span> Istanbul’s<\/span> popular<\/span> mayor,<\/span> Ekrem<\/span> Imamoglu,<\/span> who<\/span> held<\/span> final<\/span> rallies<\/span> in<\/span> the<\/span> city<\/span> to<\/span> call<\/span> on<\/span> people<\/span> to<\/span> vote<\/span> for<\/span> Kilicdaroglu.<\/span> As<\/span> in<\/span> previous<\/span> elections,<\/span> mainstream<\/span> media<\/span> coverage<\/span> of<\/span> the<\/span> campaign<\/span> was<\/span> spotty,<\/span> with<\/span> President<\/span> Erdogan’s<\/span> rallies<\/span> always<\/span> being<\/span> broadcast<\/span> live.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>On<\/span> Friday,<\/span> Mr.<\/span> Kilicdaroglu<\/span> called<\/span> on<\/span> tens<\/span> of<\/span> thousands<\/span> of<\/span> people<\/span> to<\/span> listen<\/span> to<\/span> his<\/span> latest<\/span> speech<\/span> and<\/span> vote<\/span> on<\/span> Sunday<\/span> to<\/span> “change<\/span> the<\/span> fate<\/span> of<\/span> Turkey.”<\/span> He<\/span> said<\/span> he<\/span> was<\/span> ready<\/span> to<\/span> bring<\/span> democracy<\/span> to<\/span> Turkey<\/span> and<\/span> criticized<\/span> Erdogan,<\/span> who<\/span> in<\/span> recent<\/span> years<\/span> has<\/span> cracked<\/span> down<\/span> on<\/span> dissidents<\/span> and<\/span> centralized<\/span> much<\/span> of<\/span> the<\/span> state’s<\/span> power<\/span> in<\/span> his<\/span> own<\/span> hands.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>“I<\/span> will<\/span> show<\/span> the<\/span> whole<\/span> world<\/span> that<\/span> our<\/span> beautiful<\/span> country<\/span> is<\/span> a<\/span> country<\/span> that<\/span> can<\/span> achieve<\/span> democracy<\/span> through<\/span> democratic<\/span> means,”<\/span> he<\/span> said.<\/span> Although<\/span> Kirikdaroglu<\/span> and<\/span> his<\/span> party<\/span> have<\/span> lost<\/span> all<\/span> past<\/span> presidential<\/span> and<\/span> parliamentary<\/span> elections<\/span> since<\/span> taking<\/span> office<\/span> in<\/span> 2010,<\/span> he<\/span> has<\/span> a<\/span> slight<\/span> lead<\/span> over<\/span> Erdogan,<\/span> according<\/span> to<\/span> polls.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>Turkey’s<\/span> voter<\/span> turnout<\/span> has<\/span> traditionally<\/span> been<\/span> high,<\/span> reflecting<\/span> the<\/span> continued<\/span> belief<\/span> in<\/span> this<\/span> kind<\/span> of<\/span> civic<\/span> participation<\/span> in<\/span> a<\/span> country<\/span> where<\/span> freedom<\/span> of<\/span> expression<\/span> and<\/span> association<\/span> is<\/span> stifled.<\/span> If<\/span> no<\/span> presidential<\/span> candidate<\/span> receives<\/span> more<\/span> than<\/span> 50%<\/span> of<\/span> the<\/span> vote,<\/span> a<\/span> runoff<\/span> will<\/span> be<\/span> held<\/span> on<\/span> May<\/span> 28.<\/span> Turkey<\/span> will<\/span> also<\/span> elect<\/span> its<\/span> 600-seat<\/span> parliament<\/span> on<\/span> Sunday.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>Turkey’s<\/span> top<\/span> electoral<\/span> body<\/span> said<\/span> votes<\/span> cast<\/span> for<\/span> another<\/span> presidential<\/span> candidate,<\/span> Muharrem<\/span> Ince,<\/span> who<\/span> withdrew<\/span> from<\/span> the<\/span> race<\/span> this<\/span> week<\/span> would<\/span> count<\/span> as<\/span> valid<\/span> and<\/span> that<\/span> he<\/span> would<\/span> not<\/span> be<\/span> withdrawn<\/span> until<\/span> the<\/span> possibility<\/span> of<\/span> a<\/span> re-vote<\/span> was<\/span> considered.<\/span> announced<\/span> that<\/span> it<\/span> had<\/span> decided<\/span> not<\/span> to<\/span> Analysts<\/span> expected<\/span> Inse<\/span> voters<\/span> to<\/span> switch<\/span> to<\/span> Mr.<\/span> Kirikdaroglu.<\/span><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

ISTANBUL (AFP) – Turkish politicians hold crucial presidential and parliamentary elections that could have a big impact on the future of the NATO member states before the so-called propaganda ban takes effect. A final rally was held at the end of the election campaign on Saturday, the night before the election. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, […]<\/p>","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":6906,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":""},"categories":[280,2481],"tags":[4907,2127,4407,4412,4899,4900,4901,4902,4903,4904,4905,4906],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/turkey.webp","amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6907"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6907"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6907\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6909,"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6907\/revisions\/6909"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6906"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6907"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6907"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6907"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}