The final hours of Turkey’s presidential race have become bitter as President Recep Tayyip Erdogan aims to extend his 20-year rule by five more years. His opponent, Kemal Kilicdaroglu, has pledged to expel millions of Syrian refugees to court nationalist votes, which Erdogan has called hate speech. Despite trailing by 2.5 million votes in the first round, Kilicdaroglu believes he can bridge the gap with the support of ultranationalist voters and those who did not turn out in the first round. He recently took audience questions on a YouTube channel, which has reached 24 million views, in a bid to attract young voters.
As detailed in a recent article by Paul Kirby on BBC News, the final hours of Turkey’s presidential race have become increasingly contentious as President Recep Tayyip Erdogan seeks to extend his 20-year reign by five more years. His opposition rival, Kemal Kilicdaroglu, has attempted to court nationalist votes by promising to expel millions of Syrian refugees, a move that Erdogan has labeled as hate speech and claimed would be a victory for terrorists.
Despite trailing by 2.5 million votes in the first round, Kilicdaroglu remains hopeful that he can bridge the gap between himself and Erdogan. He believes that he could win over the 2.8 million supporters of the ultranationalist candidate who came in third or the eight million voters who did not turn out in the first round.
To appeal to younger voters who did not vote in the first round, Kilicdaroglu participated in a four-hour Q&A session on a YouTube channel called BaBaLa TV. The broadcast has already garnered 24 million views, and Turkey has a population of 85 million. Youth campaigner Mehtep believes that the YouTube marathon could work, stating that “Being on BaBaLa TV affected lots of young voters who didn’t vote first time around.”
Erdogan has a significant advantage over Kilicdaroglu, as he controls about 90% of Turkish media. However, Kilicdaroglu’s appearance on BaBaLa TV was a smart move for a candidate trying to overcome this disadvantage. Erdogan has not only amassed sweeping powers in the past six years, but he has also cracked down on dissent, and political opponents have been thrown into jail.
The financial markets have reacted to the anticipation of an Erdogan victory and further economic instability, with the Turkish lira hitting record lows against the dollar on Friday. Demand for foreign currency has surged, and the central bank’s net foreign currency reserves have slipped into negative territory for the first time since 2002.
Despite this economic instability, many voters in Turkey continue to support Erdogan. In the town of Bala, for example, more than 60% of voters backed the president two weeks ago. Doner kebab shop owner Al Ozdemir, who operates across the street from the president’s party headquarters, says he will vote for another five years of Erdogan. However, not all shopkeepers are willing to reveal who they support.
To end with a bang, the final hours of Turkey’s presidential race have become increasingly contentious, with Erdogan and Kilicdaroglu engaging in heated exchanges. Kilicdaroglu has attempted to appeal to younger voters by participating in a Q&A session on a popular YouTube channel, while Erdogan continues to control the majority of Turkish media. Despite economic instability, many voters in Turkey continue to support Erdogan, while others remain undecided. The outcome of Sunday’s run-off vote remains uncertain, and the world will be watching closely to see what happens next.
