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Massive crowds gather in Istanbul, Turkey ahead of the 7th presidential election

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A week before the presidential and parliamentary elections to be held on May 14 in Istanbul, Turkey’s largest city, a large-scale rally was held to gauge the heat of the election, Xinhua News Agency and AFP reported.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who represents the ruling AK Party, drew hundreds of thousands of people to his campaign rally on the 7th (local time). Erdogan held a rally on the European side of Istanbul, praised the ruling party’s achievements so far, and emphasized future plans.

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President Erdogan stressed the importance of this election, especially as the 100th anniversary of the founding of Turkey in 2023 approaches, and insisted that the goal is to build a new “Turkeye century” with public support.

“Just as we led the country’s development by compensating for the deficiencies of democracy during the 100 years of the Republic, we will firmly establish the century of Turkey with the help of the people in the next 100 years,” he said.

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Istanbul is a large city where more than one in six Turkiye voters live, so a victory in Istanbul is of paramount importance to presidential candidates and all political parties. Of the total population of Turkey of 85 million, the number of voters is about 60.7 million, of which 11.3 million are Istanbul residents.

As the leader of the Republican People’s Party (CHP) and opposition presidential candidate Kemal Kilicharoglu of the six political parties’ national coalition fought fiercely, he held a large-scale rally and campaigned on the Asian side of Istanbul on the 6th, the day before.

He appealed to the voters for support, saying he would bring peace and prosperity back to Turkey and rule with knowledge, experience and rational reason. He stressed that he would not marginalize or exclude members of any part of society, particularly emphasizing his own inclusive policies.

Both candidates, Erdoğan and Kilicharoglu, are continuing large-scale campaigns to win the hearts of the public, who are suffering from the recent economic crisis and the aftermath of the earthquake, saying they will improve the quality of life for the majority of the people.

The Turkish opposition, which had repeatedly failed to produce a single candidate due to extreme division, pledged to abolish the imperial presidential system maintained by Erdogan and restore it to a parliamentary system if elected.

However, President Erdogan, while confident of victory, denies the solidarity and victory of the opposition coalition of various ethnic minorities and political factions. For this reason, there is even an analysis that he will not admit defeat even if he loses the election.

Source: Donga

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