Erdogan rival Kilicdaroglu faces tough time as economy struggles

The result of the first round of Turkey’s presidential election was a blow to the opposition, who had high hopes of unseating President Recep Tayyip Erdogan after 20 years in power.

Contender Kemal Kilicdaroglu, a soft-spoken, bookish 74-year-old, is running as the candidate for change, vowing economic reform, a reversal of Erdogan’s policies that many describe as autocratic, and closer ties with NATO and the West.

Turkish opinion polls — released before Sunday’s vote — indicated a clear lead for Kilicdaroglu. But by Monday, after nearly all votes were counted, 69-year-old Erdogan finished solidly ahead with 49.5% of the vote; Kilicdaroglu had 44.9%. Since neither candidate won more than 50% of the vote, however, the election will go to a runoff on May 28.

Turkey is a country of around 85 million people, sitting at the geographical crossroads of East and West. It boasts NATO’s second-largest military, is home to 4 million refugees and plays a pivotal role in geopolitics with its mediation in the Russia-Ukraine war.

The election results show that it’s more divided than ever.

They also reveal that despite Turkey’s current economic turmoil, tens of millions of Turks still see Erdogan as their only viable leader.

Turkey is facing a cost-of-living crisis, with inflation around 50% and its national currency, the lira, down over 75% against the dollar in the last five years — in large part thanks to Erdogan’s steady lowering of interest rates despite soaring inflation and shrinking foreign exchange reserves.

Erdogan served as Turkey’s prime minister from 2003 to 2014 and president from 2014 onward, after coming to prominence as mayor of Istanbul in the 1990s. He was celebrated in the first decade of the new millennium for transforming Turkey into an emerging market economic powerhouse. 

Presiding over numerous national accomplishments for the country, he has championed…