The Turkish opposition unites, elects the "Gandhi of Turkey" to face Erdogan in the presidential elections

2023-03-06 22:52:37Kosova&Bota SHKRUAR NGA REDAKSIA VOX
The Turkish opposition unites, elects the "Gandhi of Turkey" to face
Kemal Kilicdaroglu

Turkey's often divided opposition parties have come together to choose a single candidate to face President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in May's election.

Kemal Kilicdaroglu leads the main secular opposition party, the center-left Republican People's Party.

Polls suggest a tight race in the already highly polarized country after two decades of Erdogan's authoritarian rule.

The economic crisis and mistakes in the response to the earthquake that struck the country last month may make the Turkish leader more vulnerable than in previous elections.

A large crowd of supporters cheered Kilicdaroglu, a former civil servant, after he was elected by a six-party opposition alliance.

Known as "Gandhi Kemal" or "Gandhi of Turkey" for his resemblance to civil rights leader Mahatma Gandhi, the soft-spoken 74-year-old offers a radically different vision in both content and style to that of Erdogan.


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