Competition rages between the poles of politics in Türkiye. From the war of crowds to the war of statements. Down to the communication sites. The means and tools are many, the goal is the same.
In Turkey, all eyes are on the decisive day, on May 14, to choose a new president and parliament for the country. This date is not normal; It coincides with the first centenary of the founding of the Turkish Republic.
Who will spend the second centenary of the Republic?
The competition is fierce and each party is waving its cards. President Erdogan is pushing the bill of projects so that the people can see his achievements over the past two decades, while the opposition makes great promises and focuses on the failures of the past period.
Opinion polls say that Erdogan, who has been leading Turkey for 20 years, is facing his most difficult challenge ever, amid what the country is suffering from as a result of high inflation and unemployment rates, and political tensions that are not at the right time with the West, in addition to the devastating effects of the earthquake.
While the Turkish opposition is united, led by Kemal Kilicdaroglu, to contest the presidential and parliamentary elections, amid a state of strength and confidence in victory that has not happened in decades.
The opposition front pledged to restore independence to the Central Bank and to cancel Erdogan’s economic policies.
The opposition also intends to dismantle his executive presidency and return to the previous parliamentary system, strengthening Turkey’s foreign relations as well as sending Syrian refugees back to their country.
Therefore, the Turkish elections will not only determine who will lead the country, but also the way it will be governed, and where its economy and foreign policy will go.
It was remarkable the percentage of Turks abroad who cast their votes in embassies and at border crossing points, as the polls closed their doors on the ninth of May all over the world, and the number of participants reached about 1.76 million Turks, which represents about 54% of the registered voters in Turkey. Abroad, according to what the Supreme Council for Elections told Bloomberg. This turnout is higher than that of the 2018 elections.
Erdogan is looking forward to obtaining a large boost of support from the Turks abroad in Europe, who have historically supported him and his ruling party, but the matter differs among Turks living in the United States, who generally tend to vote for Erdogan’s opponents, according to Bloomberg Agency.
Turkey’s bicentennial elections have more than five million voters voting for the first time in their lives and make up nearly 8 percent of the electorate, and the key to victory may be in their hands; Therefore, this category was a target in the eyes of the candidates, and perhaps the best weapon to win them over is social media, which Erdogan and his rival Oglu have focused a lot on during the last period, but the youth category is evaluated by opinion polls as the category of undecided voters, but they tend to favor the Turkish opposition.
And in the crowd of analyzes, polls, and views on the most important elections in the history of the Republic, there are those who say that Erdogan’s loss will not only mean his exit from power, but will also end the legacy of two decades of his rule, while the defeat of the opposition will not be like any previous loss, but rather it will lose the opportunity to reach To power, an opportunity that may not be repeated for years or perhaps decades.
