Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan expressed confidence that he will be reelected next month and his victory will amount to a message to the West, which he’s said opposes him and supports his rivals.
“I believe that my nation will finish this job without making it difficult,” Erdogan told CNN-Turk television late Wednesday, referring to May 14 vote when a presidential candidate must win more than 50 per cent of the votes to avoid a runoff two weeks later. Erdogan claimed that he was witnessing strong support from his grassroots.
There are now suggestions that Erdogan, who faces the toughest election race in his two-decades rule in power, has stepped up his criticism of Western countries, using it against his political opponents in an apparent bid to consolidate the support of nationalist-minded voters.
He recently chided the US ambassador to Türkiye over meeting with the main opposition candidate for the presidency, Kemal Kilicdaroglu.
“With these elections, Türkiye will give a message to the West. This nation is no longer thinking about the reaction of the West while it is fighting terrorism or determining its economic policies,” Erdogan said. “The West is saying that it is against Erdogan. Their hostile stance toward Erdogan is a hostile stance toward my nation — my nation will foil this plot on May 14.”
What are the president’s electoral positions now? We are less than a month away from the polls. Can we say unequivocally today that the majority of voters are on his side, and that he will definitely win?
Sahib Bekir, a Turkish political expert and founder of the Voice of Türkiye news and analysis website, told Caliber.Az that Erdogan has preferences in opinion polls, which he and his party rely on.
Source: caliber
