Having been in the shadow of Recep Tayyip Erdogan throughout his career, opposition leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu believes it is time to set Turkey on a new path and undo much of the legacy of the man who dominated Turkish politics for nearly two decades, Reuters reports.

An alliance of six opposition parties has named a serious and sometimes combative former civil servant as its candidate against Erdogan in what is considered to be perhaps the most important election in the country’s modern history on May 14, news.ro reports.

Opinion polls generally show the 74-year-old Kilicdaroglu has the lead and could even win, possibly in the first round, after an inclusive campaign in which he promised to address the cost-of-living crisis, a major factor undermining the president’s popularity in recent years.

Kilicdaroglu has promised to return to sound economic policies and a parliamentary system of government, as well as an independent judiciary, which critics say Erdogan has used to suppress dissent. Kylichdaroglu also suggests warming relations with the West somewhat.

The opposition’s recovery plan is aimed at reducing inflation, which hit 85% last year, even as it is expected to cause further turmoil in the financial market and possibly trigger the latest in a series of currency collapses.

“I know that it is difficult for people to live. I know the price of life and the lack of hope among young people,” Kilicdaroglu said at a pre-election rally. “It’s time for change. We need a new spirit and a new understanding,” says Erdogan’s main opponent.

THE NECESSARY PERSON AT THE NECESSARY TIME

Critics say Kilicdaroglu, who Erdogan despised after suffering repeated election defeats as head of the Republican People’s Party (CHP), lacks his opponent’s power to mobilize the public and cannot offer a clear post-Erdogan vision.

He is trying to build on the opposition’s triumph in 2019, when the CHP defeated Erdogan’s Justice and Development Party in Istanbul and other major cities in local elections thanks to the support of voters from other opposition parties.

Even if he wins, Kılıçdaroğlu will face difficulties in maintaining an opposition alliance that includes nationalists, Islamists, secularists and liberals. His selection as the candidate followed a 72-hour dispute in which the leader of the second-largest party, Meral Aksener of the IYI, finally withdrew.

Kilicdaroglu “presents the exact opposite of Erdogan, who is a polarizing figure and a fighter who is consolidating his electoral base,” says Birol Baskan, a Turkish author and political analyst. “Kylychdaroglu looks more like a statesman who is trying to unite and reach those who do not vote for them. This is his magic, and it is very difficult to do in Turkey,” the analyst explains. “I am not sure that he will win, but he, Kylichdaroglu, is the right person at the right time,” Baskan believes.

Public opinion polls point to close presidential and parliamentary elections that will decide not only who will lead Turkey, but also what role it can play in easing the conflict in Ukraine and the Middle East.

Many wonder whether Kilicdaroglu can defeat Erdogan, the country’s longest-serving presidential leader, whose campaign charisma has helped him to more than a dozen electoral victories. But analysts say Erdogan is as close as ever to defeat, despite a media frenzy, courts and record government spending on welfare ahead of the vote.

The opposition has said that Erdogan’s initiative to lower interest rates has triggered an inflationary crisis that has devastated household budgets. The government says its policies have boosted exports and investment as part of a program to strengthen the lira.

HEALING OLD WOUNDS

Before entering politics, Kılıçdaroğlu worked at the Ministry of Finance and later headed the Social Insurance Institute of Turkey for much of the 1990s. Erdogan often belittles his work in those positions in speeches.

A former economist, Kılıçdaroğlu became an MP in 2002, when Erdogan’s AKP first came to power. Kılıçdaroğlu represented the CHP, a center-left party founded by modern Turkey’s founder Mustafa Kemal Atatürk that sought to reach beyond its secular base toward the conservatives.

Kilicdaroglu has spoken in recent years about wanting to heal old wounds of confrontation with Muslim believers and Kurds.

He distinguished himself as an anti-corruption fighter in his own CHP party, appearing on television to denounce cases that led to high-profile resignations. A year after losing his candidacy for mayor of Istanbul, Klicdaroglu was elected party leader in 2010 without any opposition. At that party congress, a campaign song was played in the packed hall describing him as a “pure and honest” person. Clad in a striped shirt and black jacket, Kilicdaroglu told his supporters: “We have come to defend the rights of the poor, the oppressed, the workers and those who toil.”

His election fueled the party’s hopes for a new start, but since then the CHP’s support has not exceeded 25% of the electorate. In the last parliamentary elections in 2018, Erdogan’s ruling and development party won 43%.

However, some believe that Kılıçdaroğlu quietly reformed the party and removed the “Kemalists” who supported a hardline version of Atatürk’s ideas. At the same time, he promoted members who were considered closer to European social democratic values.

Critics say he failed to bring flexibility to the static CHP but eventually emerged as the presidential candidate over others, even though they fared better in direct confrontations with Erdogan.

GANDHI KEMAL

Born in the eastern province of Tunceli, Kilicdaroglu is an Alevi, a minority group that follows a faith that draws inspiration from Shia, Sufi and Anatolian folk Muslim traditions. He openly acknowledged this on social media last month, trying to soften any political attack, given that the Alevis are at odds with the country’s Sunni Muslim majority in their faith.

The Turkish media nicknamed him “Gandhi Kemal” because of his clear resemblance to the Indian leader. He gained public attention in 2017 when he started the “March for Justice”, which stretched 450 km from Ankara to Istanbul, after the arrest of a member of parliament. CHP

During the election campaign in the predominantly Kurdish city of Van, thousands of people rallied for Kilicdaroglu, who has the support of the large pro-Kurdish People’s Democratic Party, although it is not part of the main opposition alliance.

“I did not go to the 2018 elections, but this time I will vote for Kemal Kilicdaroglu. The rise of radical Islamists motivates me,” said Farouk Yasar, 27, a Kurdish technician from the southeastern province of Batman.

ATTITUDE TO RUSSIA

Kemal Kilicdaroglu said on Friday that his party has concrete evidence of Russia’s involvement in the spread of “deeply fake” online content ahead of Sunday’s presidential election. In an interview with Reuters, he stated that it is unacceptable for Russia to interfere in Turkey’s internal affairs, but added that if he becomes president, he will maintain good relations between Ankara and Moscow.

Turkey, a NATO member, is heavily dependent on energy imports, with Russia being its largest supplier. Ankara has delayed paying a $600 million gas bill to Russia until 2024, two sources told Reuters this week, underscoring the extent of relations with Russian President Vladimir Putin that have strengthened under Erdogan.

Asked why he tweeted on Thursday that Russia was responsible for fake online content – a bold move by Kilicdaroglu – the opposition leader said: “If I didn’t have (hard evidence), I wouldn’t have tweeted.”

His side did not contact the Russian embassy on the matter, and he did not provide details about the online content in question.

“We consider it unacceptable that another country interferes in the election process in Turkey for the benefit of a political party. We wanted the whole world to know about it, that’s why we openly made this appeal through a tweet,” he told Kylichdaroglu in an interview.

Minority party presidential candidate Muharrem Ince – Kılıçdaroğlu’s former opponent in the CHP party – withdrew from the election race on Thursday, citing an online hoax that damaged his image. And he told some details.

Russia has also previously been accused of meddling in elections abroad, particularly in the United States, which Moscow denies.

The Kremlin denies meddling in Turkey’s elections. Kremlin spokesman Dmytro Peskov said that the people who sent such accusations to Kilicdaroglu are liars and that Russia highly values ​​its ties with Turkey.

Kilicdaroglu, a 74-year-old former civil servant, confirmed in an interview with Reuters that Turkey, which has close trade, economic and tourism ties with Russia, will seek a good balance in its relations with Moscow. “We do not want to break our friendly relations, but we will not allow interference in our internal issues,” he said.

ATTITUDE TOWARD UKRAINE

Kilicdaroglu also said he would push for another peace initiative between Russia and Ukraine after Erdogan’s failed attempt in 2022. However, he added, “we must make it clear that we do not think it is right for a country to occupy another country.” .

Turkey is trying to maintain diplomatic balance after Russia invaded Ukraine. Ankara opposes Western sanctions against Russia and has close ties to both Moscow and Kyiv, its Black Sea neighbors. Turkey sent military drones to help Ukraine.

Asked if he would support NATO expansion if elected president, he said, “Of course,” without elaborating. “We will maintain our relations with NATO within the same framework as in the past,” Kılıçdaroğlu added, while Sweden still awaits ratification of Ankara’s NATO candidacy.

Turkey, Kılıçdaroğlu says, will pursue a peace-oriented foreign policy that prioritizes its national interests and will act in accordance with the modern world.

HOW MARKETS REACT

Kilicdaroglu says Thursday’s rally in Turkish stocks indicates markets believe his opposition alliance will win Sunday’s vote. Turkey’s main stock index rose nearly 7.9 percent on Thursday, while credit default swaps fell.

The election pits Erdogan’s vision of a tightly managed economy that has seen rampant inflation and the lira in free fall against Kilicdaroglu’s promise to return to free-market economic policies. “We can already see that there is relief inside and outside the country because it has become clear that I will be elected president,” Kilicdaroglu said, adding that markets were confident his alliance would lead a rational policy.

“This gives a lot of confidence to internal and external financial circles. (Thursday’s market moves) were the first steps of that confidence. In addition, Turkey’s borrowing costs will decrease,” says Kilicdaroglu.

“We must appoint someone trusted by financial circles as the head of the central bank. This is the first thing foreign investors will see. In addition, we will ensure the independence of the central bank,” Erdogan’s opponent promises.