Türkiye election: Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu – the man who challenges Erdoğan

Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu is a man of clear words. He talks about the beauty of his faith, despite or precisely because many see it as his greatest flaw, because of the prejudices. He talks about the “madness” that has found its way into Turkish politics and the “tyrant” who is responsible for it. Last but not least, he speaks frankly what he intends to do: he wants to dethrone this tyrant.

Alone: ​​Kılıçdaroğlu, 74, obviously speaks from the heart of more and more Turks. While there were initially doubts as to whether he was the right candidate at all – too modest in appearance, too reserved in attack – polls now give him a good chance of achieving the unimaginable: Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, 69, the somehow eternally incumbent president to beat the parliamentary and presidential elections on May 14th.

Who is the man who is dangerous to Erdoğan?

First of all: a beacon of hope. Kılıçdaroğlu was chosen as the opposition’s joint candidate by a six-party alliance – united in their intention to end the Erdoğan era after 20 years. “We will get rid of him and democratically retire him”, . “Erdoğan knows that very well.”

Turkey election: the “anti-Erdoğan” against the “Sultan”

For 13 years now, the graduate economist has headed the largest opposition party, the CHP, once founded by Mustafa Kemal Atatürk. Before that, he headed the country’s powerful social security system for years. Nevertheless, for a long time he had the reputation of being too soft and too colorless for Turkish politics – under his leadership the CHP was not able to win an election against Erdoğan. On the one hand. On the other hand, during Erdoğan’s repressive years, he kept the opposition alive, finally rallying the fragmented parties behind him as an alliance against the autocrat.

It is no coincidence that Kılıçdaroğlu is also called “anti-Erdoğan”. Again and again he has criticized the politics of the “Sultan” – as Erdogan is called because of his authoritarian power behavior – and distinguished himself through protest actions. For example, in 2017, amidst the repression after the failed coup attempt, he walked a 420-kilometer “march for justice” that was eventually followed by tens of thousands.

Or last winter when he didn’t pay his electricity bill – also out of protest, but also out of solidarity. Hundreds of thousands had their electricity cut off because they could no longer afford the skyrocketing prices. In the end, Kılıçdaroğlu was also left in the dark.

My protest was intended to give a voice to these people who had been pushed into the darkness. Under our government, the poor would never have their electricity, water, or gas cut off.

Most recently, he caused a stir with a confession that can already be called historic: Kılıçdaroğlu, in which he professes his faith as an Alevi – to date, more than 113 million people have viewed it, more than any other video on Twitter . And that worldwide.

The “outing” is not trivial, it was at least a novelty and sometimes a taboo. The 74-year-old comes from the eastern Anatolian province of Tunceli (Kurdish: Dersim) and belongs to the Alevi religious minority, who to this day have complained about discrimination and oppression in predominantly Sunni Turkey. Even before he announced his candidacy, this background was repeatedly interpreted as a possible weakness. Kılıçdaroğlu proudly displayed the supposed weakness – and received a lot of encouragement for it.

I am a man of the people. That’s why I live like this. Erdoğan has forgotten the people he once belonged to. He has turned into an autocrat and is no longer interested in the problems of the Turks. Someone who rules with a stick in hand and intimidates the people will never be able to do anything good for society. One must not lead a country with fear, oppression and violence.

Kılıçdaroğlu polarizes, inspires and stirs up hope – also in the federal government. Federal Agriculture Minister Cem Özdemir is hoping for a victory for the opposition leader, because his victory “would pave the way for a return to democracy.” The outcome is “more open than ever” in Erdoğan’s 20-year term as head of government and state.

In fact, polls point to a close neck-and-neck race. Kılıçdaroğlu has already achieved this: A defeat for Erdoğan, which was once unimaginable, can no longer be ruled out.