Turkish Opposition Struggles as Presidential Runoff Approaches

Zaman explained that Kilicdaroglu hoped to cross the 50% barrier, but Ogan’s candidacy attracted a large number of votes from those who did not want Erdogan to continue in power, as Kilicdaroglu got about 45% of the vote, and Ogan got 5.3% of the vote. Erdogan managed to collect 49.4% of the vote.

Zaman quoted prominent members of the Republican People’s Party (CHP) as saying that Kilicdaroglu will meet with Ogan to ask to convince his supporters to vote for him, while CHP officials do not count much on the meeting.

According to “Zaman”, the results of the first round showed that the news of the nation’s alliance’s cooperation with the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) affected Kilicdaroglu. It was also noted that “the withdrawal of the head of the Good Party, Meral Aksener, from the opposition coalition and her return to it again, had a negative impact on the voter vote.”

This comes as Erdogan received a small dose of support from the National Party, a Turkish left-wing party. Prior to the elections, he had expressed his desire to join the People’s Alliance, led by Erdogan, but his request was rejected.

“It was decided to support the ruling People’s Alliance,” said party chairman Dogu Princak, and that the National Party “determined its policy in the run-off from the standpoint of independence against imperialism and the production revolution.”

The Turkish opposition tried to recover from a disappointing electoral performance and launched a new offensive to defeat Erdogan on May 28. Kilicdaroglu met with five other leaders of his alliance on Wednesday evening, in order to plan a stronger strategy to end Erdogan’s two-decade dominance.

According to media reports, he dismissed the pillars of his public relations team and will entrust the leadership of his election campaign to the mayor of Istanbul, Ekrem Imamoglu, who is known for his emotional personality and his tense relationship with Erdogan. The handing over of the campaign to Imamoglu and the mayor’s strategist, Janan Kaftincioglu, marks a shift for the Turkish opposition leader.

Kilicdaroglu’s counter-battle began with a video clip on Tuesday, in which he stared directly into the camera and slammed his hand on his table several times before striking his chest, saying in a loud voice: “I am here! I am here!”

“fake” leader

The opposition leader intensified his battle, describing Erdogan as a “fake world leader,” noting that “Russia is directing him now,” referring to Erdogan’s close relations with President Vladimir Putin.

The Turkish president did not delay in responding, as he said in a televised appearance that “all they are doing is hitting the table.” He thanked “my dear friend, Russian President Vladimir Putin,” for agreeing to extend an agreement allowing the export of Ukrainian grain to world markets for an additional two months.

Erdogan has repeatedly resorted to the agreement in his campaign, seeking to show his ability to raise Turkey’s status and influence on world events. “Putin gives Erdogan another diplomatic victory,” wrote Emre Becker, director of the “Eurasia” group, in a tweet, ahead of the next round of elections.

Erdogan said he would visit areas in the southeast of the country at the end of the week that were hit by the February earthquake. The president maintained the strong support he enjoyed in the area despite the initial anger expressed by its residents at the delay in the government’s search and rescue operations.

Erdogan added that his team will meet young voters in Istanbul and Ankara in an attempt to win in the two most important cities in Turkey, where Imamoglu and Mansur Yavas defeated Erdogan’s allies in the 2019 municipal elections.

financial credibility

The second phase of the campaign is accompanied by turmoil in the Turkish markets, as a result of which the Turkish lira fell to historical levels against the dollar, at 19.6 liras per dollar. Investors are starting to take into account the possibility of Erdogan winning, with what this means for the long-term continuity of his unorthodox economic policies.

The cost of securing Turkish debt exposure stems from concerns related to the possibility of the country’s banking sector, which was prosperous in the past, facing great difficulties in the coming period.

Erdogan’s decision to force the Turkish Central Bank to combat high inflation to historical levels through lower interest rates imposed unprecedented pressure on the lira, and analysts believe that Erdogan tried to support the lira before the elections through indirect interventions in the market, which negatively affected hard currency reserves.

Analysts have warned that Turkey may be forced to impose balance limits unless Erdogan changes his policy after pledging to keep interest rates low as long as he is in office.

“Our focus after the elections will be on the issue of whether fiscal and monetary policies will become more credible and stable,” Fitch Ratings said.