Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan will attend a prayer ceremony at Istanbul’s historic Hagia Sophia mosque ahead of the fight of his political life against a powerful secular rival.
According to the French news agency AFP, the 69-year-old Turkish president will emulate the ritual that Ottoman sultans used to perform before sending their men to war. Erdogan is gearing up for Sunday’s parliamentary and presidential elections.
He has never faced such a strong and united opposition as the one he currently faces in the form of a six-party coalition led by retired civil servant Kemal Kilic Daroglu.
For 21 years, Recep Tayyip Erdogan has won successive elections by dividing his opponents, but his Islamic-based party has been plagued by the country’s ailing economy and a crackdown on civil liberties during his second decade in power. Faced with anger.
The six opposition parties joined hands despite their political and cultural differences, as their sole goal is to remove Erdogan from power.
The alliance is also supported by the country’s pro-Kurdish party. This party has a 10% vote bank.
The statistics are not in the Turkish president’s favour, and he is a few points behind his secular rival in most polls.
Kemal Kilic Daroglu is now desperately trying to break the 50 percent threshold and avoid a May 28 runoff that could give Erdogan a chance to regroup and reset the debate.
Addressing a rally in Ankara, he said, “Are you ready to bring democracy to the country?” Ready to bring peace to the country? I promise, I’m ready too.
On the other hand, the Turkish president had to face an unexpected situation on TV on Friday night when he was asked what he would do if he lost.
“That is a stupid question,” he replied.
We have come to power through democratic methods and the will of the people. If the people change their mind, we will do what democracy demands.