ISTANBUL: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan made a symbolic visit to Istanbul’s Adnan Menderes mausoleum on Saturday, paying homage to his executed Islamic predecessor in an attempt to rally his conservative base on the eve of a historic runoff election.
Erdogan’s visit to the mausoleum of Menderes, who was hanged after a military coup in 1960, reflects his desire to continue the fight for religious rights and nationalist causes in Turkey.
Erdogan, who survived a coup attempt against his own government in 2016, laid a wreath at the tomb and declared, “The era of coups and juntas is over.” He called on his followers to participate in the upcoming election and emphasized the significance of the day.
During his campaign, Erdogan has focused on preserving religious rights and has garnered support from poorer and rural voters through initiatives such as converting Istanbul’s Hagia Sophia mosque into a mosque in 2020.
Erdogan Defeats Opposition Leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu
In the first round of the election, Erdogan defeated secular opposition leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu by nearly five percentage points but fell short of the 50-percent threshold, necessitating a runoff.
Kilicdaroglu, seeking to return power to the secular party, has accused Erdogan’s government of unfairly blocking his mass text messages to voters. Observers have noted that while election days in Turkey are generally free from meddling, the odds are often stacked against the opposition beforehand.
The election has been accompanied by concerns over Turkey’s struggling economy, with the fate of the lira and the stability of its banks causing alarm. Erdogan’s unorthodox theory that lower interest rates bring down inflation has had the opposite effect, with inflation reaching 85 percent last year.
The government’s intervention in the markets has maintained the stability of the lira, but economists warn that a full-fledged crisis may occur if the government does not take necessary measures after the vote.
