Saudi deputy FM meets Sudan's Sovereign Council chief in Port Sudan    Kuwait, India to elevate bilateral relations to strategic partnership Sheikh Mishal awards Mubarak Al-Kabir Medal to Modi    MoH to penalize 5 health practitioners for professional violations    Al-Samaani: Saudi Arabia to work soon on a comprehensive review of the legal system    Environment minister inaugurates Yanbu Grain Handling Terminal    Germany's attack suspect reportedly offered reward to target Saudi ambassador    U.S. Navy jet shot down in 'friendly fire' incident over Red Sea    Israeli strikes in Gaza kill at least 20 people, including five children    Trudeau's leadership under threat as NDP withdraws support, no-confidence vote looms    Arabian Gulf Cup begins with dramatic draws and a breathtaking ceremony in Kuwait    GACA report: 928 complaints filed by passengers against airlines in November    Riyadh Season 5 draws record number of over 12 million visitors    Fury vs. Usyk: Anticipation builds ahead of Riyadh's boxing showdown    Saudi Arabia to compete in 2025 and 2027 CONCACAF Gold Cup tournaments    Marianne Jean-Baptiste on Oscars buzz for playing 'difficult' woman    PDC collaboration with MEDLOG Saudi to introduce new cold storage facilities in King Abdullah Port Investment of SR300 million to enhance logistics capabilities in Saudi Arabia    Al Shabab announces departure of coach Vítor Pereira    My kids saw my pain on set, says Angelina Jolie    Legendary Indian tabla player Zakir Hussain dies at 73    Eminem sets Riyadh ablaze with unforgettable debut at MDLBEAST Soundstorm    Order vs. Morality: Lessons from New York's 1977 Blackout    India puts blockbuster Pakistani film on hold    The Vikings and the Islamic world    Filipino pilgrim's incredible evolution from an enemy of Islam to its staunch advocate    Exotic Taif Roses Simulation Performed at Taif Rose Festival    Asian shares mixed Tuesday    Weather Forecast for Tuesday    Saudi Tourism Authority Participates in Arabian Travel Market Exhibition in Dubai    Minister of Industry Announces 50 Investment Opportunities Worth over SAR 96 Billion in Machinery, Equipment Sector    HRH Crown Prince Offers Condolences to Crown Prince of Kuwait on Death of Sheikh Fawaz Salman Abdullah Al-Ali Al-Malek Al-Sabah    HRH Crown Prince Congratulates Santiago Peña on Winning Presidential Election in Paraguay    SDAIA Launches 1st Phase of 'Elevate Program' to Train 1,000 Women on Data, AI    41 Saudi Citizens and 171 Others from Brotherly and Friendly Countries Arrive in Saudi Arabia from Sudan    Saudi Arabia Hosts 1st Meeting of Arab Authorities Controlling Medicines    General Directorate of Narcotics Control Foils Attempt to Smuggle over 5 Million Amphetamine Pills    NAVI Javelins Crowned as Champions of Women's Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO) Competitions    Saudi Karate Team Wins Four Medals in World Youth League Championship    Third Edition of FIFA Forward Program Kicks off in Riyadh    Evacuated from Sudan, 187 Nationals from Several Countries Arrive in Jeddah    SPA Documents Thajjud Prayer at Prophet's Mosque in Madinah    SFDA Recommends to Test Blood Sugar at Home Two or Three Hours after Meals    SFDA Offers Various Recommendations for Safe Food Frying    SFDA Provides Five Tips for Using Home Blood Pressure Monitor    SFDA: Instant Soup Contains Large Amounts of Salt    Mawani: New shipping service to connect Jubail Commercial Port to 11 global ports    Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Delivers Speech to Pilgrims, Citizens, Residents and Muslims around the World    Sheikh Al-Issa in Arafah's Sermon: Allaah Blessed You by Making It Easy for You to Carry out This Obligation. Thus, Ensure Following the Guidance of Your Prophet    Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques addresses citizens and all Muslims on the occasion of the Holy month of Ramadan    







Thank you for reporting!
This image will be automatically disabled when it gets reported by several people.



Erdogan and Kilicdaroglu clash in desperate race for votes
Published in The Saudi Gazette on 27 - 05 - 2023

The last hours of Turkey's presidential race have turned increasingly sour as Recep Tayyip Erdogan bids to extend his 20 years in power by five more.
Ahead of Sunday's run-off vote, opposition rival Kemal Kilicdaroglu has courted nationalist votes by vowing to expel millions of Syrian refugees.
The president accused him of hate speech — and said a Kilicdaroglu victory would be a win for terrorists. The opposition candidate trailed in the first round by 2.5 million votes.
The president is favorite, but his rival believes the margin could still be bridged — either by the 2.8 million supporters of an ultranationalist candidate who came third or by the eight million voters who did not turn out in the first round.
For four hours this week Kilicdaroglu took audience questions on a YouTube channel called BaBaLa TV. The broadcast has reached 24 million views by the latest count and Turkey has a population of 85 million.
Youth campaigner Mehtep thinks the YouTube marathon could work: "Being on BaBaLa TV affected lots of young voters who didn't vote first time around."
She's a member of the center-right, nationalist Good party, which has backed the opposition challenger and has the only female leader in Turkish politics in Meral Aksener.
The appearance was a smart move for a candidate trying to overcome his rival's inbuilt advantage of controlling about 90% of Turkish media.
International monitors say voters may have had a genuine choice, but that Turkey "did not fulfil the basic principles for holding a democratic election".
President Erdogan has not just amassed sweeping powers in the past six years — he has cracked down on dissent and political opponents have been thrown into jail.
Anticipating an Erdogan victory and further economic instability, the financial markets reacted with the Turkish lira hitting record lows against the dollar on Friday.
Demand for foreign currency has surged and the central bank's net foreign currency reserves have slipped into negative territory for the first time since 2002.
That will be of little concern in the town of Bala, an hour's drive to the south-east of Ankara.
More than 60% of voters backed President Erdogan there two weeks ago, although all the main parties have offices on the high street.
Across the road from the president's party headquarters, doner kebab shop owner Al Ozdemir says he will vote for another five years of Erdogan.
But another shopkeeper refused to tell the BBC who he supported because he feared losing Erdogan supporters as customers.
For months Turkey's struggling economy was the number one issue, but as Sunday's run-off has drawn close, the rhetoric has intensified and refugees are at the center of it.
Gone is the unifying 74-year-old opposition leader with his hands cupped into trademark heart-shape. Instead, he is trying to attract voters who backed ultranationalist leader Sinan Ogan two Sundays ago.
Although the president won Ogan's backing, the opposition leader secured the support of the anti-immigrant Victory Party, led by Umit Ozdag, whose party won 1.2 million votes.
The Victory Party leader said this week Kilicdaroglu had agreed to send back "13 million migrants" within a year "in line with international law".
Turkey is hosting more refugees than any other country, but nowhere near that many.
Prof Murat Erdogan (no relation to President Erdogan), who conducts a regular field study called Syrians Barometer, believes the total number of Syrian refugees and irregular migrants from Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan is closer to six or seven million.
"Their discourse is not realistic, physically it's impossible," says Prof Erdogan. "If we talk about [repatriating] voluntarily it's not feasible, and by force it means per day more than 50,000 should be sent back."
The rhetoric is unpleasant but it might make a difference. As many as 85% of Turks want refugees from Syria's civil war to go home, opinion polls suggest.
Both sides have nationalist parties to keep onside, said political scientist Nezih Onur Kuru from Koc university, and Kilicdaroglu is tapping into security concerns felt by many voters, especially young ones.
"He knows the level of perceived threats is too high because of the immigrant crisis and terrorist attacks and wars involving Russia, Syria and Azerbaijan."
President Erdogan said he is already sending Syrian refugees back and plans to send more. His main partner is the far-right nationalist MHP.
And he has gone on the attack too, using a manipulated video at a rally to link his rival to the Kurdish militant PKK, considered a terror group in the West as well as Turkey.
On Friday he said a Kilicdaroglu victory meant that "terrorist organizations" would win.
His target is the big pro-Kurdish HDP party, which backs Kilicdaroglu and which President Erdogan has repeatedly sought to identify with the PKK militants. The HDP denies any such links.
The HDP, for now, backs Kilicdaroglu because it wants an end to Turkey's "one-man regime". But it has genuine concerns about his alliance with a far-right nationalist.
Initially it was thought that President Erdogan could be defeated because of his disastrous handling of Turkey's economy and his poor response to February's earthquakes.
And yet almost half of voters backed him. The question is whether Kilicdaroglu's change of tack will work.
"I wanted a change, all my customers wanted a change," said Songul in her chicken restaurant in Bala. But ultimately she says they are all sticking with the president because they do not trust his opposite number: "I'll vote for Erdogan as there's no alternative." — BBC


Clic here to read the story from its source.