He is the fourth of seven children from an Alevi family, an Islamic tradition that is distinct from the Sunni, Shia and Alawite sects and whose members have faced discrimination in the overwhelmingly Sunni country.Īn economist by training, Kilicdaroglu headed Turkiye's social security organization before joining the CHP and winning a seat in parliament in 2002 - the same year Erdogan's ruling Justice and Development party came to power. The social democrat politician who has built a reputation for honesty and integrity was born in 1948 in Tunceli province, in eastern Turkiye, to a deed officer father and a homemaker mother. even though he got a lot of criticism from within the party." That's what created the Nation Alliance."įorming the alliance "required a lot of patience and self-sacrifice." Kilicdaroglu "showed the self-sacrifice and patience. "He attaches great importance to compromise, and he displays tolerance. Under Kilicdaroglu, analysts say, Turkiye is likely to adopt a more pro-European and pro-NATO stance, while still preserving Turkiye's economic ties with Russia.Įrdogan Toprak, a CHP legislator and longtime friend of Kilicdaroglu, said without Kilicdaroglu's patience and consensus-building skills, a united opposition would not have emerged. If elected, he plans to move to the modest presidential palace in Ankara that was home to past presidents, instead of the 1,150-room palace that Erdogan built. In another stark difference with the incumbent, Kilicdaroglu has said he aims to serve just one term and then retire to spend time with his three grandchildren. And these elections are about bringing democracy to Turkiye." "These elections are about reconciliation and not conflict. They are about ensuring gender equality," Kilicdaroglu said at a rally in the CHP stronghold of Izmir, in western Turkiye. "These elections are about rebuilding Turkiye, ensuring that no child goes to bed hungry. The coalition has also pledged to reinstate a parliamentary democracy with checks and balances, to return to more conventional economic policies and to fight corruption. The Nation Alliance has vowed to roll back Erdogan's efforts to concentrate vast powers in the president's hands. "We take out loans to pay for debts and credit cards. We can call it power-poisoning," he said. Another factor is the devastating earthquake in February that killed more than 50,000 people and exposed years of government negligence.Įrdal Karatas, a barber in Istanbul, used to support Erdogan but has switched allegiances amid the economic downturn and inflation and will vote for Kilicdaroglu.Įrdogan's "first 10 years were really successful, but in the last 10 years he has veered off course. Kilicdaroglu has also clinched the pro-Kurdish party's tacit support.Īdding to Kilicdaroglu's chances for victory are a faltering economy and high inflation that have been blamed on Erdogan's unconventional economic policies.
If neither candidate wins more than 50% of the votes, the election will go to a May 28 runoff.ĭivisions within the opposition have long helped the 69-year-old Erdogan hold on to power, but this time around Kilicdaroglu is running as the candidate of a united bloc known as the Nation Alliance, which unified six diverse parties, including nationalists and Islamists.
Opinion surveys give Kilicdaroglu, 74, a slight lead over Erdogan, even though analysts warn of the perils of writing off a president with potent political skills. Kilicdaroglu 0has not won a general election since taking the helm of his secular, center-left Republican People's Party, or CHP, in 2010.īut that could change on May 14, when Turkiye holds its most hotly contested presidential election in years. Erdogan's staying power has kept him in office first as prime minister then as president since 2003. The contrasts are reflected in the two men's political paths.
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The main challenger trying to unseat Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in this month's presidential election cuts a starkly different figure than the incumbent who has ruled the country for two decades.
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