Turkey's opposition presidential candidate Kemal Kilicdaroglu vowed to return millions of migrants to their countries, in a dramatic turn in his rhetoric, ahead of a runoff with Erdogan. Kilicdaroglu, who led a more positive campaign compared to his rival, suffered disappointment in the first round of the election, where, despite poll predictions, he fell behind the Turkish president.
This seems to have pushed him to another, more aggressive approach, as he accused Erdogan of collaborating with a terrorist network and of allowing uncontrolled immigration.
"We didn't find this place on the road. We will not leave our land to this mentality that has allowed 10 million illegal immigrants.
He did not provide data on the number of immigrants, but Turkey is the country with the largest refugee population in the world, about 4 million, for whose shelter there is also an agreement with the EU.
The Islamist-rooted ruling AK party and nationalist allies won a comfortable majority in parliament, while Erdogan secured the lead in the presidential election, but fell short of the necessary 50 percent threshold. Opponent Kilicdaroglu, considered the favorite in the polls, received about 45 percent of the vote and goes into the second round weaker.
The votes that went to the third candidate in the race, Sinan Ogan, about 5.17 percent, could prove decisive in determining the winner.
Kılıçdaroğlu's sharp turn suggests that his campaign on the brink of a runoff may now be marked by a more patriotic stance, compared to the moderate rhetoric of the previous elections. The statement can also be seen as an attempt to secure the support of Ogan, whose main message was the return of immigrants.