By Janet Ekstract
ISTANBUL- On Friday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan called on Turkiye to open the Century of Turkiye by giving him their votes in run-off elections on May 28. Voters return to the polls on Sunday to decide whether Erdogan will rule for a third decade in Turkiye. His People’s Alliance party won a majority in the 600-seat Turkish Parliament. Meanwhile, opposition candidate and CHP Chairman Kemal Kilicdaroglu who took 44.5% of the vote in the first round of election polls, has six parties backing him. On Wednesday, the leader of a hardline anti-migrant party who previously supported the far-right candidate Ogan, decided to back Kilicdaroglu after both signed a protocol pledging to send back millions of migrants and refugees within the year and “forcefully if necessary.” He also called on eight million who didn’t vote to get out and cast their ballots in the second round..
Erdogan commented on social media: “We believe that on May 28, we will stick to the Century of Turkiye and continue our journey toward a great and powerful Turkiye.” He reminded his followers that his party, the Justice and Development Party known as the AK Party, have kept all their promises and fulfilled their commitments. The Turkish leader called on Turkish citizens to prioritize their nation and is basing his campaign on making good on his promise to rebuild areas devastated by twin earthquakes on February 6 in Turkiye’s southeast region.
Erdogan is banking on his constituents to view his track record in office as favorable while Kilicdaroglu’s results showed a clear split in Turkiye on what Turks think of Erdogan’s rule. Many of them blame him for the mass building collapses after the earthquakes while Erdogan has promised to as quickly as possible, build 319,000 new homes within this year. Though the Turkish economy is thriving when it comes to exports and real estate, the rate of inflation has tripled with the price of just about everything becoming prohibitable Analysts and experts appear to be divided on Erdogan’s economic approach with several prominent Turkish economists claiming that Erdogan’s economic plan is on the right track while other warn that interest rates need to be raised in order to bring down inflation.