By Suzan Fraser and Zeynep Bilginsoy | Associated Press
ANKARA, Turkey — Conservative Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan faces a runoff with his main rival in two weeks that will decide who leads a country struggling with sky-high inflation and hosting Syrian refugees as it plays a key role in the Middle East and in NATO expansion.
Election officials said Monday that the May 28 second round will allow Turks to decide if their nation remains under the increasingly authoritarian president’s firm grip for a third decade, or if it can embark on the more democratic course that Kemal Kilicdaroglu has claimed he can deliver.
The vote shows how Turkey has become extremely polarized, some voters commented.
“I am not happy at all,” voter Suzan Devletsah said. “I worry about the future of Turkey.”
Erdogan faced electoral headwinds due to a cost-of-living crisis and criticism over the government’s response to a devastating February earthquake. But with his alliance retaining its hold on the parliament, Erdogan is now in a good position to win in the second round.
“On May 28, God willing, if Tayyip Erdogan fulfills expectations, he will win,” Erdogan voter Engin Duran said.
As in previous years, the nationalist led a highly divisive campaign.
He portrayed Kilicdaroglu, who had received the backing of the country’s pro-Kurdish party, of colluding with “terrorists” and of supporting what he called “deviant” LGBTQ rights. As a devout leader of the predominantly Muslim country, which was founded on secular principles, Erdogan has had the backing of conservative voters and has courted more Islamists with his anti-LGBTQ rhetoric.
In a bid to woo voters hit hard by inflation, he increased wages and pensions and subsidized electricity and gas bills, while showcasing Turkey’s homegrown defense industry and infrastructure projects.
Kilicdaroglu leads the pro-secular main opposition party, which was established by the founder of modern Turkey….
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