Competing Visions of Turkey's Elections
2023-05-13
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1Turkey will hold presidential and parliamentary elections on Sunday.
2The elections take place as the Turkish Republic marks its 100th anniversary.
3Observers are watching election developments closely.
4A united opposition in the country is aiming to end the long rule of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
5Erdogan became president in 2014 after establishing the office during his 14 years as the country's prime minister.
6Now he is seeking a third presidential term.
7Erdogan's strongest competitor is Kemal Kilicdaroglu, leader of the opposition Republican People's Party, or CHP.
8He represents a six-party alliance that seeks to end the presidential system Erdogan created.
9The alliance wants to return Turkey to a parliamentary democracy that includes checks and balances on power.
10The 74-year-old Kilicdaroglu has also won the support of the country's pro-Kurdish party.
11It brings about 10 percent of the votes.
12Early voter opinion studies show the opposition candidate with a small lead over the president.
13But, the race is very close. Experts consider it unlikely that Sunday's vote will be definitive.
14Many expect the process will require a second vote on May 28 between the two candidates who win the most ballots in the first.
15Ozgur Unluhisarcikli, the director of the German Marshall Fund's Ankara office, said the race was about two competing visions.
16"For the first time in the 20 years since Erdogan came to power, he's facing a real electoral challenge which he may actually lose," the expert said.
17The 69-year-old Erdogan leads the Justice and Development Party, or AKP.
18He is campaigning on the strength of his rule. He speaks of his leadership guiding the country through the disaster from a powerful earthquake this year.
19The February 6 event leveled whole cities and killed over 50,000 people in southern Turkey.
20Erdogan has recently enacted some financial policies aimed to please the public.
21They include increasing the minimum wage and pensions to offset the effects of inflation.
22However, Erdogan has lost some support as a result of Turkey's weak economy and high cost of living.
23And, there is criticism of his government's response to the February earthquake.
24During his campaign stops, Erdogan has tried to describe the opposition as working with "terrorists" and anti-Turkey foreign powers.
25Two other candidates are also in the race for president.
26They are Muharrem Ince, a former CHP leader who lost the last presidential election to Erdogan in 2018, and Sinan Ogan who has the backing of an anti-immigrant nationalist party.
27Ince, who heads the Homeland Party, has come under criticism from Kilicdaroglu supporters.
28They accuse Ince of splitting the votes and forcing the elections into a runoff.
29The main issues of the elections are the economy and high inflation.
30In Istanbul, tea-shop owner Cengiz Yel said he would vote "for change" because of the government's failure to fix the economy.
31"We worry about the rent, the electricity, and other bills," Yel said.
32"For the past year, I have been starting each new month with more debt."
33Others support Erdogan who improved roads and bridges in the country and lifted many people out of poverty in the early years of his rule.
34"I love my nation. I want to be with a leader who serves his nation," said Arif Portakal, a 65-year-old Erdogan supporter in Istanbul.
35The campaign has been marked with some violence.
36On Sunday, protesters in the eastern city of Erzurum threw rocks at a campaign event for Kilicdaroglu.
37At least seven people were injured.
38The mayor of Istanbul was speaking at the event.
39Turkish voters will also enter votes to fill seats in the 600-member parliament.
40The opposition would need at least a majority to be able to enact some of the democratic reforms it has promised.
41More than 64 million people, including 3.2 million Turkish citizens outside the country, can vote in the elections.
42And voter turnout in Turkey is traditionally high.
43There are concerns over how voters among the 3 million people who have been displaced following the earthquake will be able to vote.
44Some have also questioned whether Erdogan would accept an electoral defeat.
45In 2015, Erdogan is believed to have worked to block coalition talks after his ruling party lost its parliamentary majority in elections.
46The party regained a majority in repeat elections a few months later.
47I'm Caty Weaver.
1Turkey will hold presidential and parliamentary elections on Sunday. 2The elections take place as the Turkish Republic marks its 100th anniversary. Observers are watching election developments closely. A united opposition in the country is aiming to end the long rule of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. 3Erdogan became president in 2014 after establishing the office during his 14 years as the country's prime minister. Now he is seeking a third presidential term. 4Erdogan's strongest competitor is Kemal Kilicdaroglu, leader of the opposition Republican People's Party, or CHP. He represents a six-party alliance that seeks to end the presidential system Erdogan created. The alliance wants to return Turkey to a parliamentary democracy that includes checks and balances on power. 5The 74-year-old Kilicdaroglu has also won the support of the country's pro-Kurdish party. It brings about 10 percent of the votes. 6Early voter opinion studies show the opposition candidate with a small lead over the president. But, the race is very close. Experts consider it unlikely that Sunday's vote will be definitive. Many expect the process will require a second vote on May 28 between the two candidates who win the most ballots in the first. 7Ozgur Unluhisarcikli, the director of the German Marshall Fund's Ankara office, said the race was about two competing visions. "For the first time in the 20 years since Erdogan came to power, he's facing a real electoral challenge which he may actually lose," the expert said. 8Erdogan's campaign 9The 69-year-old Erdogan leads the Justice and Development Party, or AKP. 10He is campaigning on the strength of his rule. He speaks of his leadership guiding the country through the disaster from a powerful earthquake this year. The February 6 event leveled whole cities and killed over 50,000 people in southern Turkey. 11Erdogan has recently enacted some financial policies aimed to please the public. They include increasing the minimum wage and pensions to offset the effects of inflation. 12However, Erdogan has lost some support as a result of Turkey's weak economy and high cost of living. And, there is criticism of his government's response to the February earthquake. 13During his campaign stops, Erdogan has tried to describe the opposition as working with "terrorists" and anti-Turkey foreign powers. 14Other candidates 15Two other candidates are also in the race for president. 16They are Muharrem Ince, a former CHP leader who lost the last presidential election to Erdogan in 2018, and Sinan Ogan who has the backing of an anti-immigrant nationalist party. 17Ince, who heads the Homeland Party, has come under criticism from Kilicdaroglu supporters. They accuse Ince of splitting the votes and forcing the elections into a runoff. 18Issue for the elections 19The main issues of the elections are the economy and high inflation. 20In Istanbul, tea-shop owner Cengiz Yel said he would vote "for change" because of the government's failure to fix the economy. 21"We worry about the rent, the electricity, and other bills," Yel said. "For the past year, I have been starting each new month with more debt." 22Others support Erdogan who improved roads and bridges in the country and lifted many people out of poverty in the early years of his rule. 23"I love my nation. I want to be with a leader who serves his nation," said Arif Portakal, a 65-year-old Erdogan supporter in Istanbul. 24The campaign has been marked with some violence. On Sunday, protesters in the eastern city of Erzurum threw rocks at a campaign event for Kilicdaroglu. At least seven people were injured. The mayor of Istanbul was speaking at the event. 25Turkish voters will also enter votes to fill seats in the 600-member parliament. The opposition would need at least a majority to be able to enact some of the democratic reforms it has promised. 26More than 64 million people, including 3.2 million Turkish citizens outside the country, can vote in the elections. And voter turnout in Turkey is traditionally high. 27There are concerns over how voters among the 3 million people who have been displaced following the earthquake will be able to vote. 28Some have also questioned whether Erdogan would accept an electoral defeat. 29In 2015, Erdogan is believed to have worked to block coalition talks after his ruling party lost its parliamentary majority in elections. The party regained a majority in repeat elections a few months later. 30I'm Caty Weaver. 31Hai Do adapted this story for Learning English based on Associated Press news report. 32___________________________________________________________________ 33Words in This Story 34pension - n. the amount of money that a company or government pays to a person who is old or sick and no longer works 35offset - v. to reduce the effect of something 36response - n. something that is done as a reaction to something else