Turkey Elections: As rallies conclude, Erdogan defends Putin, slips in polls

Incumbent President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and main opposition leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu are wrapping up their campaigns; Russia became an issue in Friday’s rallies.

With less than 40 hours to go until Turkey’s closest elections in its modern history, incumbent President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his top rival Kemal Kilicdaroglu are wrapping up their campaigns, and recent polls gave the lead to the main opposition leader.

Kilicdaroglu is streaking ahead of Erdogan, almost all of the polls released this week showed. It’s still unclear whether the main opposition leader will secure enough support (above 50% of the vote) to win the presidential election in the first round, avoiding a runoff.

A survey by Istanbul-based Yoneylem released on Friday gave Kilicdaroglu a lead of more than 5 points, at 49.5% to Erdogan’s 44.4%. The survey was conducted between May 9-10.

Another survey by Ankara-based ORC research, which was also released on Friday, showed Kilicdaroglu over the crucial 50% mark to be elected in the first round, as his support stood at 51.7%. Erdogan support stood at 44.2%, the ORC poll conducted May 10-11 showed.

As both surveys were conducted before presidential candidate Muharrem Ince withdrew from the race on Thursday, it remains unclear how his absence will impact on the polls on Sunday. Support for Ince stood at 1.4% and 1.3% according to Yoneylem and ORC respectively.

Kilicdaroglu concluded his rallies after a mass rally in Ankara on Friday. He reportedly wore body armor for the first time in his campaign, with heavily armed guards positioned behind him. The increase in his details came after a journalist close to the opposition claimed early Friday that an assassination team had entered Turkey from Georgia to target Kilicdaroglu. An Istanbul prosecutor launched an investigation against the journalist Merdan Yanardag for disseminating misleading information.

Ve 13. Cumhurbaşkanı 
Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu 🫶🌸 pic.twitter.com/yaL6whClf3

— Hülya ÜNSAL (@Pamuk_Miya) May 12, 2023

The Russian meddling

Meanwhile, the Kremlin on Friday strongly denied Kilicdaroglu’s accusations. The opposition candidate warned Moscow on Thursday against meddling in the elections, saying some deepfake videos targeting an opposition figure had originated in Russia.

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov labeled the source informing Kilicdaroglu as a “liar,” saying that his country values ties with Turkey tremendously. “Moscow does not interfere in the internal politics of other states,” Peskov was quoted as saying by the Russian media.

In response, Kilicdaroglu told Reuters on Friday that his side had concrete information pointing out the Russian meddling.

In a televised remarks at a youth summit in Istanbul, Erdogan also slammed Kilicdaroglu for his accusations. “Now he is attacking Mr. Putin, attacking Russia. … I ’m sorry, but I cannot stay silent when you attack Putin. Because our relations with Russia are not less than our relations with the United States,” the president said.