On the eve of the second round of the presidential election in Turkey, the outgoing head of state Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his opponent Kemal Kiliçdaroglu held their last meetings this Saturday, May 27.
For his last meeting in Ankara, Kemal Kiliçdaroglu returned to the fundamentals of his campaign: the economy and purchasing power. The candidate of a coalition of six parties addressed in particular housewives – an electorate who votes mainly for Tayyip Erdogan –, promising them a minimum income and social security coverage. ” I will make sure no woman is dependent on a man “, he shouted.
On the banks of the Bosphorus in Istanbul, the Turkish president also addressed women, but to come back again and again to the question of the veil, reports our correspondent, Anne Andlauer. Recep Tayyip Erdogan recalled the prohibitions that veiled women had to undergo before he came to power, especially at university, suggesting that these prohibitions would return if the opposition won. The Head of State once again claimed to be “nationalist”, to repeat what has been his main angle of attack from the start: Kemal Kiliçdaroglu would be the candidate of Turkey’s “enemies”, in particular of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK).
After beating his opponent in the first round (49.5% against 44.9%), the outgoing president considers himself in a strong position to win this Sunday. ” Our merchants, our workers, our young people, they will be the winners! All those who have confidence in the Nation will be the winners! “, he shouted.
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His supporters also strongly believe in it. “ Of course he will win, with 60% of the vote, predicts one of them at the microphone of our special correspondent, Daniel Vallot. I would have preferred him to win in the first round, but it’s better like that… It shows that we are a real democracy. » For 20 years, Erdogan has given us everything, repeat the supporters of the Turkish president, guaranteeing in their eyes the stability of the country in an international context deemed perilous for Turkey. “ To the north, there is Ukraine, to the east the war between Armenia and Azerbaijan, and to the south, Syria… We are surrounded by war. That’s why we need a leader like Erdogan », justifies another.
Between the two rounds, Recep Tayyip Erdogan received the support of the third man in the presidential election, the nationalist Sinan Ogan, who collected 5.2% of the vote in the first round. Kemal Kiliçdaroglu meanwhile won the support of another far-right leader, Ümit Özdag, leader of the Victory Party. But to hope to win against a given arch-favorite outgoing president, the opposition candidate needs 2.8 million votes more than in the first round. Against only 264,000 for Recep Tayyip Erdogan. The choice of the 8 million voters who did not go to the polls on May 14 will be decisive in this.
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(And with agencies)