Democracy's Melting Pot: Analyzing the Turbulent Turkish Election Landscape

By Zoriana Shuprudko

The last hours of the presidential race in Turkey are becoming increasingly bitter. Recep Tayyip Erdogan is aiming to extend his 20-year rule for another five years. In an effort to win over nationalist voters ahead of Sunday's run-off election, opposition challenger Kemal (Source:BBC) Kilicdaroglu promised to deport millions of Syrian refugees.

According to Erdogan, a victory for Kilicdaroglu would be a victory for terrorists. The president also accused him of using a hating speech. According to the BBC, international observers say that voters may have had a real choice, but Turkey "failed to fulfill the basic principles of holding democratic elections." President Erdogan has not only amassed vast powers over the past six years, but also cracked down on dissent and jailed political opponents.

The opposition candidate fell behind in the first round by 2.5 million votes. The president is the favorite, but his opponent believes the gap can still be bridged — either with the 2.8 million supporters of the ultra-nationalist candidate, who came in third, or with the eight million absentee voters in the first round.

(Source: DW)

Anticipating an Erdogan victory and furthered economic instability, financial markets reacted with the Turkish lira falling to a record low against the dollar on Friday. Demand for foreign currency surged, and the central bank's net foreign exchange reserves fell to negative territory for the first time since 2002.

Kilichdaroglu draws attention to the security problems experienced by many voters, especially young people. He also emphasizes that the level of perceived threats is too high due to the immigrant crisis, terrorist attacks, and wars involving Russia, Syria, and Azerbaijan.

President Erdogan responds that he is already sending Syrian refugees back and plans to do even more.