Shortly before the elections in Turkey, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced that he would accept the result of the vote even in the event of defeat. “In Turkey, we came to power through democratic means,” he said late on Friday in Istanbul. If the nation decides against him on Sunday, he will do “what democracy demands”.
However, he assumes that he will be elected for another term and that his alliance will also win a majority in parliament with its 600 deputies, Erdogan said. Erdogan’s alliance of conservative Islamist AKP, the ultranationalist MHP and smaller right-wing and Islamist parties “will respect all poll results”, he added.
Kilicdaroglu ahead in most polls
Elections will take place in Türkiye on Sunday. Opposition leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu is ahead in most polls, and a tight race is looming. Observers fear that if the election is close, Erdogan could try to challenge the result. In 2019, for example, his party had the result of the Istanbul mayoral election annulled after the opposition won.
Erdogan has been president since 2014 and has more power than ever since the introduction of a presidential system in 2018. He can govern largely without parliament. Critics fear the country of around 85 million could slide completely into autocracy if Erdogan wins again. The opposition wants to return to the parliamentary system.
Erdogan warns of ‘high price’ in opposition victory
On Friday, Erdogan warned his devotees of reprisals if Kilicdaroglu came to power. “You will pay a heavy price if we lose,” he told a flag-waving crowd at a campaign rally in a conservative part of Istanbul.
Meanwhile, Kilicdaroglu announced at a campaign event in Ankara that he wanted to bring “democracy” and “peace” to Turkey. Erdogan warned that Kilicdaroglu’s opposition alliance was driven by “revenge and greed”. The President accused the West of using the opposition as an instrument to impose its will on Turkish society.
(apa)