Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan seeks third term

“Istanbul!” President Recep Tayyip Erdogan shouted to a sea of supporters he had gathered for a show of force ahead of a general election on May 14 – the most difficult election in the Turkish leader’s two decades in power.

“If you say everything will be fine, we will definitely win!”, Mr. Erdogan told a crowd of 1.7 million people on May 7.

Crowds stood shoulder to shoulder on the tarmac of Istanbul's old Ataturk airport: A tidal wave of Turkish flags and banners bearing the face of the 69-year-old president.

The old airport was abandoned in 2018 to make way for a new airport that President Erdogan built near the Black Sea. “We have reshaped the country,” Erdogan declared from the stage, recalling the achievements of his government over the past two decades.

Mr. Erdogan was mayor of Istanbul – Türkiye's largest city from 1994 to 1998, before leading his Islamist-led Justice and Development Party (AKP) to victory after victory in elections in the Eurasian transcontinental country.

The loss of Istanbul to the opposition in the 2019 mayoral election shattered Erdogan's aura of invincibility and sounded the first alarm bells for the looming 2023 general election.

World - Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan seeks 3rd term — More than 1.7 million supporters attended President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's election rally in Istanbul, May 7, 2023. Photo: Anadolu Agency

2023 not only marks the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Republic of Türkiye, but also marks 20 years of Erdogan's rule.

Mr. Erdogan served as Prime Minister of Turkey from 2003 to 2014. In 2014, he ran for President, a largely ceremonial position in Turkey's parliamentary system.

In 2017, he engineered the country's transition to a presidential system. He was then re-elected to the much more powerful presidency in 2018, a position he has held ever since.

A coalition of six opposition parties has nominated Kemal Kilicdaroglu, a serious and quiet 74-year-old former civil servant, as its candidate to challenge the incumbent president in the most important election in the country's modern history on May 14.

The latest polls show Mr Kilicdaroglu and Mr Erdogan are neck and neck, and are likely to meet in a runoff election taking place two weeks after the general election on May 28.

During an election campaign also in Istanbul on May 6, Mr. Kilicdaroglu – leader of the country's oldest Republican People's Party (CHP) – promised to pacify and unify the country if he wins.

“I, along with my friends, will bring spring to this country, I will bring peace . Whoever you are, we will solve the problems of all those who live on this land. We will never discriminate against anyone,” the leading opposition candidate pledged .

Minh Duc (According to France24, Euronews, Reuters)

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