Turkey’s opposition leader vows to reverse slide to autocracy

Turkey’s opposition leader has vowed to rebuild state institutions and reverse a slide towards autocracy, saying he will not let next month’s election be “stolen” by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.

Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, the presidential candidate of a six-party opposition alliance, told the Financial Times he was confident of defending the integrity of the May 14 elections and bringing Erdoğan’s two decade dominance of Turkish politics to an end.

The 74-year-old former civil servant, who has led Turkey’s main opposition party, the People’s Republic Party (CHP) for 13 years, promised to revive the ailing economy, repair Turkey’s democracy, and heal the “great despair among young people”.

“Independence of the judiciary, freedom of the media, freedom of expression, all these need to come back,” Kılıçdaroğlu said. “[Our priorities] will be the economy and democracy.” The nation “cannot afford to lose another five years” to Erdoğan, he warned.

Analysts say Erdoğan faces his toughest election contest since he came to power in 2003, first as prime minister and latterly as president. Most polls place Kılıçdaroğlu in the lead by a slim margin, with expectations that the presidential race could go to a second round for the first time.

Turkey will also vote for MPs, with Erdoğan’s ruling Justice and Development party (AKP) and its partners in the ultra-rightwing Nationalist Movement party (MHP) seeking to retain their majority in parliament.

The vote takes place against the backdrop of mounting criticism of Erdoğan’s management of the economy as the lira has tumbled to record lows and inflation sits at 51 per cent, denting the president’s and the AKP’s popularity

Critics also accuse 69-year-old Erdoğan of an increasingly authoritarian style, stifling media freedom and politicising key state institutions. But the veteran politician retains strong support among his base in a nation that has become increasingly polarised between Erdoğan loyalists and those who oppose him.

Kılıçdaroğlu said he does not believe the election will be fair because of the government’s control over much of the media and Erdoğan’s use of state resources to back his campaign.

But the opposition alliance has “lawyers and bar associations in all major cities” on standby to observe the process and contest any irregularities, Kılıçdaroğlu said. “We have an officer [watching] every ballot box,” he said.

The softly spoken former economist said that he had faith in the election process to ensure a mostly free vote and for the result to be respected. But he warned that the High Election Council could intervene after votes are cast.

The electoral body annulled the results of the 2019 Istanbul mayoral election, which went narrowly in favour of opposition candidate Ekrem İmamoğlu. İmamoğlu won the following round by a significantly wider margin, with Erdoğan’s AKP accepting defeat.

“We will not allow [the vote] to be stolen,” Kılıçdaroğlu vowed. “We absolutely do not trust either Erdoğan or the High Election Council. Therefore, we have been working for a year-and-a-half to ensure security at all ballot boxes.”

Kılıçdaroğlu’s prospects have been boosted after he helped forge the six-party alliance and convinced them to unite behind a single candidate. The third largest opposition group, the Peoples’ Democratic party (HDP), which draws most of its support from the Kurdish minority, is not in the alliance but is backing Kılıçdaroğlu.

However, before he was announced as the presidential candidate in March there were concerns that Kılıçdaroğlu lacked the charisma to take on Erdoğan and appeal to traditional AKP supporters who could be wavering in their support for the president and his party.

Analysts — and some senior partners in the alliance — have suggested that the opposition would have been better to choose a younger, more energetic figure like İmamoğlu, the CHP mayor of Istanbul.

The fact that Kilicdaroglu is a member of the minority Alevi sect in the predominantly Sunni Muslim nation was also considered a potential weakness that would be exploited by Erdoğan. But Kılıçdaroğlu has sought to address that issue head on, releasing a candid video on faith and the need to respect minorities. The monologue has drawn 114mn views.

When asked about concerns over his candidacy, he said: “We are working together. We will rebuild Turkey, and serious state experience is required for this”.

Should the opposition win, Kılıçdaroğlu cautioned that it would take time to determine the true depth of Turkey’s economic problems, saying his team had doubts over the rigour and accuracy of government data.

“The finances of the government, our income, our expenses, our commitments . . . nobody knows what our obligations are,” he said.

Kılıçdaroğlu said it was crucial to restore the credibility of the state’s economic institutions — particularly the central bank, which has de facto been under the control of Erdoğan in recent years.

The president is a longtime opponent of the high interest rate policies that economists say are needed to tame inflation and the central bank has replaced the governor three times during the past four years.

“First, you need to appoint a central bank governor who gives confidence to the financial community, both inside and outside of Turkey,” Kılıçdaroğlu said.

Kılıçdaroğlu, who recently met investors in the UK and the US, said his government would seek to attract $300bn in foreign capital over five years, reversing a big outflow of investment. “Public institutions in Turkey will ensure [investors’] safety in every way,” he said.

Kılıçdaroğlu also said he would also immediately move towards resurrecting Turkey’s moribund EU membership talks.

But he stressed Turkey, a Nato member, would maintain economic relations with Russia even that though “we do not find it right for Vladimir Putin to attack and occupy Ukraine”.

Turkey’s decision not to join US and EU sanctions against Russia has irked western allies since it has given Moscow access to a $900bn trading partner in a strategic location.

Additional reporting by Funja Güler