DÜZCE/ISTANBUL The city of Düzce, east of Istanbul, is the president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan strong support area. In the last presidential election in 2018, Erdoğan received more than 70 percent of the votes here.
A few days before the election, the opposition’s joint candidate Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu however, has drawn the market in Düzce to be full of people.
Kılıçdaroğlu is so popular that he is now threatening Erdoğan.
Kılıçdaroğlu, 74 years old, graying and somewhat official-looking, promises more freedom especially to young Turks.
– You can criticize me freely. Your parents don’t have to worry about what you write on social media. I will open the gates of freedom, Kılıçdaroğlu promises.
New voters hope for change
A couple of young people who are voting for the first time follow the candidate’s speeches with satisfaction. Many in Turkey hope for an end to the oppressive atmosphere.
– We are tired of the current way of life and we hope for a change. We want to live a normal youth, says a female high school student who remains anonymous.
Another first time voter Çınar Gelgeç says he doesn’t remember any other leader but Erdoğan.
– I was born in 2005, and I have only seen this man and the damage he caused. It really bothers me that our president characterizes us as terrorists who support the opposition, says Gelgeç.
For a long time, inflation and the economic crisis, which have been in double digits, have been uppermost in the minds of most voters.
Reader Berk Esen from the private Sabanci University says that economic woes and especially the rapid rise in food prices have been the main themes in the opposition’s campaign.
If Kılıçdaroğlu is to be believed, his victory would be a turning point for both democracy and the economy.
The opposition promises more freedom
Kılıçdaroğlu promises the Turks more freedom and an end to oppression.
His strongest asset may be that he is not Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, who has taken Turkey in an autocratic direction.
Under Erdoğan, the judiciary has lost its independence, and freedom of speech has deteriorated.
Thousands of people have been charged with defamation of the president, and some of them have also received prison terms.
– I think that many Turks see Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu as a one-term president who will stop confrontation and bickering, says assistant professor Esen from Sabanci University.
According to Esen, Kılıçdaroğlu can gather wide support from very different people, who are united by dissatisfaction with the economic situation and the current direction of politics.
Kılıçdaroğlu wants to approach the West
Last year, President Erdoğan balanced between East and West and developed economic relations with Russia. President Vladimir Putin appears to support Erdoğan’s re-election.
During his campaign, Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu has warned Russia against meddling in the elections.
Kılıçdaroğlu wants to develop relations with the European Union. He has made an unrealistic election promise, according to which he will organize visa-free travel for Turks in the EU.
With the economic crisis, many Turks think that the Syrian refugees in the country should be returned to their homeland. Kılıçdaroğlu has promised to take care of this as well. However, many Syrians do not want to return, and the threat of returns could lead to a movement of refugees towards Greece.
Will Sweden get into NATO if the opposition wins?
If the president changes, the speech style of Turkey’s foreign policy will also change.
It has been speculated that the desire of Turkey’s current opposition to develop relations with Europe also promotes the ratification of Sweden’s NATO membership.
Kılıçdaroğlu’s Republican People’s Party has previously said that it would have been good for Finland and Sweden to join NATO at the same time. At the same time, however, it has been established that there are some issues to be resolved with Sweden related to terrorism.
The timetable for Sweden’s NATO process also depends on the composition of the Turkish parliament.
If Erdoğan’s Justice and Development Party and its allies get a majority in parliament, the parties’ representatives can throw stones at carts there.
Tense situation before the elections
Associate professor Berk Esen says that Erdoğan’s administration may try to tamper with the election result if it starts to look like Kılıçdaroğlu will win during the counting process.
It would increase the tension in Turkey significantly.
A large-scale election fraud is unlikely to succeed, because representatives of the opposition are also present in the election apartments.
The administration and the judiciary are filled with Erdoğan supporters. That could be to Erdoğan’s advantage if the result is disputed.
It is also possible that Erdoğan will win the election with genuine support despite being in a tighter position than ever before.