In an interview this week, the Turkish opposition leader challenging President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, warned that his opponents would try to “create an environment of chaos” before Sunday’s vote, implying that political tensions could threaten the country’s most consequential election in decades.
As the leader of Turkey’s oldest political party, the centrist Republican People’s Party, Kılıçdaroğlu was best known for losing multiple elections to Erdoğan. Some accused Kılıçdaroğlu of timidity as the president cracked down on perceived enemies after a failed coup attempt in 2016.
Erdoğan’s defeat would have profound consequences at home, where his leadership has been defined by personalized one-man rule.
Kılıçdaroğlu said that relations with the United States would be more “balanced” under his administration, mentioning Turkey’s suspension from the F-35 joint strike fighter jet program after Erdoğan’s decision to buy an air defense system from Russia.
In response to a recent attack line from Erdoğan and his allies, painting the opposition as pro-LGBTQ to shore up support from conservatives, Kılıçdaroğlu said: “We have an understanding that respects human rights. The private lives of individuals, their identities, and their beliefs is not a subject for politics.” He suggested that Pride parades, banned under Erdoğan, would be allowed again.
“Turkey is a country of prohibitions,” he said. “When we are in power, Turkey will be a country of freedom.”
The Media Line’s bureau chief, Mohammed Al-Kassem, will report from Turkey with live election updates.