Kemal Kilicdaroglu’s “Right Behind” Against the Kurdish Opposition: The Rise and Fall of Turkey
The flags of the Justice and Development Party are waved by the crowd at the rallies. He hopes to strengthen Turkey around the world. In speeches, Erdogan tries to scare people off Kilicdaroglu, alleging that he’s controlled by Kurdish militants long at war with Turkish security forces. He calls the opposition a threat to the country’s values and says it’s “LGBT-ist” — because it seems more tolerant of minority rights.
As Turkey is in an economic crisis and facing criticism for its slow response to the massive damage from earthquakes in February, the support of Prime Minister Erdogan has waned.
Polls show a tight race between Erdogan and his main challenger, Kemal Kilicdaroglu (pronounced KEH-lich-DAHR-OH-loo). Both are longtime politicians. His supporters would say that he is populist. Kilicdaroglu has a low-key style. He keeps videos of his campaign in a kitchen table as a reminder of the poor economy and rising food prices.
Kilicdaroglu’s rallies draw younger crowds with his supporters saying he represents a needed change and that he offers a more moderate leadership.
What will Turkey do when the Second Round of May 28 comes to an end? It’s all in Turkey, but it isn’t going to end
If no candidate gets more than 50% of the vote on Sunday, there will be a second round May 28. The direction of a country of 85 million people and the fate of its democracy are at stake.
From taking in millions of Syrian refugees to taking sides in civil wars in Libya and Syria, and siding with Azerbaijan against Armenia, Turkey has shown it has leverage in many of the world’s hot spots in the last 20 years. It’s a NATO member and helped arm Ukraine, while it also helped broker last year’s deal to keep grain and fertilizer shipping out of the Black Sea, despite Russia’s invasion.
The United States and its other NATO allies have been disobeyed by Erdogan. He bought Russian missile systems that prompted the U.S. to stop supplying Turkey with F-35 war planes. He launched military offensives against Kurdish militias in Syria, even though they are allies with the U.S. in fighting ISIS. He kept blocking Sweden’s admission into NATO over his claims of having shelter for Kurdish militant in Turkey.
Kilicdaroglu’s campaign indicates he would try to smooth things over. If he wins, he says he would bring Turkey closer to the West politically, economically and culturally, and restart attempts to join the European Union that lost steam under Erdogan years ago. He would be expected to tell world leaders that Turkey is not going from democracy to authoritarianism.
He was seen as an exciting reformer and a champion of the working class who had been neglected by previous secular and military-led governments. He has improved housing and government services for many – building the kind of loyalty that could still give him a win in the vote.
He’s also become increasingly repressive — especially after a 2016 coup attempt — with his government jailing journalists, critics and thousands of perceived opponents. Tens of thousands of people have been kicked out of government jobs because they may have supported the coup attempt. He stacked the courts with his choices, and even replaced elected mayors in some cities with his loyalists.
In February, when earthquakes devastated much of southern Turkey and killed more than 50,000, people blamed the government for its slow response and corrupt and lax building code enforcement, all of which contributed to the death toll. They said the failures were due to the centralized power around his presidency.
In Turkey, the Erdogan Erdogan is going to fix the economy and eradicate corruption – and what he can’t do about it
He leads a coalition called “The table of six,” which is made of six parties that compete against each other. It also includes a Kurdish party that is at odds with the nationalist party. Kurds — who make up nearly 20% of the population — could be important swing voters turning his way.
But the parties managed to compose a joint platform that pledges to reverse one of the biggest changes of the Erdogan era — the consolidation of power under a strong presidency. Kilicdaroglu’s coalition promises more power-sharing with the parliament, new laws increasing freedom of expression and individual rights, and greater independence for the courts.
The country’s electoral commission would be given more power as a result. That comes amid worries that Erdogan already has enough power — either in the government or among his backers in the streets — to overturn any election that he appears to lose.
“Erdogan is the inventor of nativist, populist politics globally, and his defeat would mean something globally,” said Soner Cagaptay, director of the Turkish Research Program at the Washington Institute.
Scientists at the Middle East Technical University in Ankara think that allegations of corruption and incompetence may have contributed to higher death tolls from the earthquakes.
After the earthquake in Turkey in February, a lot of Turkish people made parallels with what he did. He was going to fix the economy and eradicate corruption.
“People are hungry in Turkey,” Hansen said. “People cannot afford meat. They can’t afford food. They can’t afford diapers. They are struggling a lot.
Turkey’s new sultan: The wake of a failed military coup and a crisis of power for the judiciary in Turkey
Since hitting a high of over 85% in October, inflation has come down. The Turkish lira has lost 76% of its value during Erdogan’s second term as president.
“People are angry,” Hansen said. “I had one young man say to me, ‘If you watch the Turkish news, which is controlled by Erdogan, all they’re telling us is that life is great. And meanwhile, I can’t afford onions.'”
“Erdogan has demonized many different groups from Kurdish nationalists to liberals to social democrats,” he said. “When you add them up, that makes up about half of Turkey’s population.”
Less than a year after the failed military coup, there is a change. More than 300 people died in the violence that erupted after the coup attempt. The military, government and civil service were all up for grabs in the response to the attempted overthrow of the government.
“He became head of state, head of government, head of ruling party, head of the national police and head of the military as chief of staff. He became all powerful as Turkey’s new sultan,” Cagaptay said.