Elections in Turkey: Inflation casts a shadow over Erdogan’s re-election aspirations

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is one of the rulers who has led his country the longest in the world. Twenty years. And this Sunday he aspires to a new mandate of another five years. Even if everything could change an environment of high inflation.

The Turkish opposition participates in these elections closer than ever.

Most of the parties against the Erdogan’s growing authoritarianismFrom the Turkish nationalist right to the pro-Kurdish left, support the centre-left Kemal Kiliçdaroglu, who is the favorite in the polls, albeit with a margin of just two or three points.

Erdogan is nervous. Two days before the elections, he compared these elections with the 2016 coup. And the opposition had to come out and ask for calm.

“If necessary, just like the night of July 15 (2016, the date of the coup), we will defend our independence and our future, even with our lives,” Erdogan said on Twitter.

Erdogan, for whom the polls predict an electoral defeat, He assured that “he will not give up on serving his country”.

The opposition calls for calm

Kiliçdaroglu has asked his supporters to do so go and vote without worrying and assured that measures have been taken to defend the clean elections.

The opposition candidate, who he is convinced of his victory already on the first lap of this Sunday’s presidential elections, he insisted to his followers that they refrain from celebrating victory in the streets, given the risk that violent pro-Erdogan groups could cause riots.

Aside from a possible violent response, several analysts believe that if he loses narrowly, Erdogan could contest the elections.

Inflation

One of the main reasons for Erdogan’s loss of popularity is the difficult economic situation through which the population passes, say Semrah, Sengül and Nazli, three housewives

“We can’t cook, we can’t fill the pot, there’s no help for the children to study,” says one of them. “No matter what party it is, the important thing is that there is a change. Enough of those who have been extravagant in their posts for so long,” adds the other. “Let the others come and go,” one of them intervenes.

Due to the government’s controversial economic policies, inflation has skyrocketed: Prices have increased by 40% compared to last year according to official datamore than 100% according to independent calculations.

Erdogan has tried to galvanize his support by accusing the opposition of siding with terrorists, foreign powers and fueling nationalist sentiment.

During the election campaign he presented discoveries of deposits of gas, oil and gold which will make the country more self-sufficient, and new models of tanks, fighters, helicopters and aircraft carriers for the Armed Forces.

Yasar Karakas, municipal employee and elector for the president, argues and defends his vote.

“If instead of two onions you eat one onion, you can eat the same one. Or instead of four potatoes, you can have one or two. But if you don’t have such an aircraft carrier, your country cannot defend itself,” she reasons.

There is no question that, at nearly 70, Erdogan continues to command both support and rejection among the Turks themselves. A narrow margin of votes on Sunday could decide whether it is time for him to retire or continue to lead the country.