Despite their dismay at his nationalist turn Kemal Kilicdarogluhis pro-Kurdish parties Türkiye they support the opposition candidate and second round next Sunday, as they fear the worst for their compatriots if he is re-elected President Tayyip Erdogan.

“The extremist regime created by Erdogan and his associates is the cause of all the ethnic problems we face,” Pervin Buldan, co-chairman of the pro-Kurdish HDP party, told a press conference in Ankara. He added that citizens have a chance to end the “one-man rule” this Sunday.

However, attendance Kurdish voters in the runoff elections is a big question, especially after Kılıçdaroğlu’s alliance with the nationalist and virulently anti-immigrant Victory Party (PP), which angered the Kurdish community. ZR, which won 2.2% in the May 14 parliamentary elections, welcomed the replacement of Kurdish mayors by state commissioners in the name of Erdogan’s government’s crackdown on terrorism.

Many Kurds who voted for Kilicdaroglu in the first round are now leaning towards abstention, disillusioned with his nationalist turn, said Reha Ruhavioglu, director of the Diyarbakır Center for Kurdish Studies. In the recent parliamentary elections HDP received 61% of the vote in Diyarbakır compared to 23% for the governor Justice and Development Party (AKP).

The clear leadership of Tayyip Erdogan, while the next day’s economic policy divides his party.

However, for the Kurdish political leadership, disappointment with the Kemalist candidate is second only to fear of a third presidential term for the Turkish leader. “Erdogan’s victory will strengthen the complacent regime he has created and pave the way for horrendous actions, which will mean a return to the darkest times,” HDP deputy chairman Tayyip Temel said.

In the May 14 parliamentary elections, approximately one in four voters went over to the nationalist party, which singled out this direction as decisive in the second round of the presidential election. Kılıçdaroğlu’s choice to turn to ZR for support came after the third presidential candidate, nationalist Sinan Ogan (5.2% in the first round), declared his support for Tayyip Erdogan on Sunday.

According to the latest poll conducted by Konda, the Turkish President outperformed his opponent with 52.7% against 47.3% in the second round. Yesterday, Erdogan appeared confident of a comfortable victory and once again attacked the Western media on Twitter, claiming that their complaints about the “dictatorship” in Turkey turned out to be “delusional” due to the massive turnout in the elections. In addition, Interior Minister Suleiman Soylu announced that one million Syrian refugees will be repatriated over the next three years thanks to a major housing project in the northern regions of Idlib and Afrin, which will be funded by Qatar.

A Reuters report, citing nine AKP sources, claimed that a heated debate broke out within the ruling faction over economic policy the following day. According to the cable, some executives believe it is necessary to move to a more orthodox policy of gradually raising interest rates to fight inflation and support the currency. On the eve of the elections, Erdogan himself suggested changing his economic headquarters and withdrawing from the reserve former finance minister Mehmet Simsek, a man who inspires confidence in international investors.