Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan pledged yesterday to step down should he lose today’s election, dismissing concerns that he may not leave power.
Erdogan was responding to the question whether he will cling to power if he loses.
“A very ridiculous question … We come to power through democratic means in Turkey … If our nation decides otherwise, I will do what democracy requires, there is nothing else to do,” he said.
His party, he added, will respect “any results coming out of the ballot box,”
He advised the opposition to deploy people to monitor the election.
If the opposition is concerned about electoral safety, they should monitor all polling stations and “ensure safety” just as Erdo?an’s party members do, he said.
“The will of the nation cannot be compromised,” Erdo?an added.
The Turkish President believes that he will be re-elected for another term as well as secure parliamentary majority on Sunday.
And addressing supporters in his last rally yesterday in Istanbul, accussed the opposition of receiving orders from the West, and that they will bow down to Western nations’ wishes if elected.
Polls showed Erdogan trailing the main opposition candidate Kemal Kilicdaroglu 24 hours ahead of one of the most consequential elections in Turkey’s modern history. However, if neither of them wins more than 50% of the vote and secures an outright win, the vote will go to a runoff on May 28.
Voters will also elect a new parliament, likely a tight race between the People’s Alliance comprising Erdogan’s conservative Islamist-rooted AK Party (AKP) and the nationalist MHP and others, and Kilicdaroglu’s Nation Alliance formed of six opposition parties, including his secularist Republican People’s Party (CHP), established by Turkey’s founder Mustafa Kemal Ataturk.
A compilation of 11 recently conducted surveys suggests a slim lead for K?l?çdaro?lu with 48.2% of the vote, while Erdo?an, trails close with 47.6%.
Observers say this might be a historic result as Erdo?an has not lost a single election since he became ?stanbul’s Mayor in 1994.
However, amidst economic woes, a catastrophic earthquake, and an allied opposition, the man in power for more than 20 years seems to lag behind in the polls and a landslide first-round victory, such as in the 2018 presidential elections, seems unlikely.
Muharrem of the Homeland Party who was the runners up in the 2018 election has surprisingly pulled out of today’s election, citing his opponents’ smear campaign against him. Despite his departure from the race, the 59-year-old former physics teacher’s name will still appear on the ballot papers tomorrow, and his party remains eligible for the parliamentary elections.