Presidential Election In Türkiye: "It Is Possible That Kemal Kiliçdaroglu Will Win In The First Round" Against Recep Tayyip Erdogan, According To A Country Specialist

Didier Billion, deputy director of the Institute for International and Strategic Relations (IRIS), told franceinfo on Friday that he felt “a real concern at the top of the state apparatus”.

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Posted on 05/12/2023 20:15

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Opposition candidate Kemal Kiliçdaroglu at a meeting in Turkey on May 11, 2023. (SERHAT ZAFER / AFP)

“According to the latest polls, it is possible that there is only one round, that is, Kemal Kiliçdaroglu wins in the first round,” announced Didier Billion, deputy director of the Institute of International and International Affairs, on Friday May 12. on franceinfo to Strategic Relations (IRIS), specialist in Turkey. Turks will vote to elect their president on Sunday, May 14. The vote will be fought between current President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Kemal Kiliçdaroglu at the head of a multi-party coalition. “We have to speak with caution, but these are new indicators”, specifies the expert, who feels “a real concern at the top of the state apparatus”.

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For Didier Billion, the two candidates represent “two social projects, two political projects that collide on almost every point”. Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who has been President of Turkey for nine years, promotes a “liberticide policy at all levels of society coupled with a conservative moral order,” explains the deputy director of IRIS. Conversely, Kemal Kiliçdaroglu is “a man of conviction” who “fights on all fronts, against all democratic attacks” with the “unanimous desire to return to a parliamentary regime,” he said. On the other hand, the two opponents share a “nationalism that has been brought to a boil,” emphasizes the expert.

If Kemal Kiliçdaroglu is elected, Didier Billion expects “turning motions” in Turkish foreign policy, “less tension in the form, less warlike aspects in the speeches”. However, he “does not believe that the fundamentals of Turkish foreign policy will change radically”.

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