Opinion polls have shown a tight race between Kemal Kilicdaroglu, a former government bureaucrat who leads Turkey’s largest opposition party, and President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who has ruled Turkey since 2003.
Erdogan’s defeat would have profound consequences at home, where his leadership has been defined by personalized one-man rule, and for Turkey abroad, where the NATO member’s ties with the United States, and governments from Europe to the Middle East, have been marked by frequent episodes of crisis. Turks voting Sunday will also elect members of parliament.
As the leader of the Republican People’s Party — the centrist party begun by Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, the founder of modern Turkey — Kilicdaroglu was best known for losing multiple elections to Erdogan. And he was accused by some of timidity as the president centralized power after a failed coup attempt in 2016 and pursued a crackdown on perceived enemies and dissidents.
Kilicdaroglu’s perceived liabilities — his staid demeanor, his bureaucratic experience — have become strengths in this election campaign, as he cobbled together a coalition of parties with disparate views to challenge Erdogan. “He is master of building alliances, and co-opting opponents,” Korkmaz said.
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