Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan will lead Saturday prayers at Istanbuls iconic Hagia Sophia mosque, ahead of a battle for his political life against a powerful secular rival.<\/p>\n
The 69-year-old will be emulating a ritual that Ottoman Sultans performed before they led their men off to war as he braces for Sundays parliamentary and presidential ballot.<\/p>\n
Erdogan has never faced a more energised or united opposition than the one led by retired civil servant Kemal Kilicdaroglu and his disparate alliance of six parties.<\/p>\n
The Turkish leader excelled at splitting his rivals and forging unlikely unions while winning one national election after another over 21 years.<\/p>\n
But his Islamic-rooted party is reeling from anger over Turkeys economic meltdown and a crackdown on civil liberties during Erdogans second decade of rule.<\/p>\n
The six opposition parties have put aside their political and cultural differences and joined forces for the lone task of pushing Erdogan out.<\/p>\n
They are officially supported by Turkeys main pro-Kurdish party a group that accounts for at least 10 percent of the vote.<\/p>\n
The math is not adding up in Erdogans favour and most polls show him trailing his secular rival by a few points.<\/p>\n
Kilicdaroglu is now desperately trying to break the 50-percent threshold and avoid a May 28 runoff that could give Erdogan a chance to regroup and reframe the debate.<\/p>\n
Are you ready to bring democracy to this country? To bring peace to this country? I promise, I am ready too, Kilicdaroglu told a rally in Ankara.<\/p>\n
Erdogan was put in the uncomfortable position on Friday night television of being asked what he would do if he lost.<\/p>\n
The veteran leader bristled and pledged to respect the vote.<\/p>\n
This is a very silly question, he said.<\/p>\n
We came to power in Turkey by democratic means, with the approval of our people. If our people were to change their mind, we would do what democracy requires.<\/p>\n
His campaign path to re-election will take him to the scene Saturday of one of the more controversial decisions of his recent rule.<\/p>\n
The Hagia Sophia was built as a Byzantine cathedral once the worlds largest before being converted into a mosque by the Ottomans.<\/p>\n
It was converted into a museum when Mustafa Kemal Ataturk created a secular post-Ottoman Turkey in 1923.<\/p>\n
Erdogans decision to convert it back into a mosquein 2020 solidified his hero status among his religious supporters and contributed to growing Western unease with his rule.<\/p>\n
The entire West got mad but I did it, Erdogan told an Istanbul rally on Saturday.<\/p>\n
Erdogan has played up religious themes and used culture wars to try and energise his conservative and nationalist base.<\/p>\n
He brands the opposition as a pro-LGBT lobby that takes orders from outlawed Kurdish militants and is bankrolled by the West.<\/p>\n
The strident message appears to be aimed at taking voters minds off Turkeys most dire economic crisis of his entire rule.<\/p>\n
The official annual inflation rate touched 85 percent last year. Economists think the real figure could have been much higher and blame the crisis on Erdogans unconventional financial theories.<\/p>\n
Kilicdaroglu pledges to do away with them immediately after taking office.<\/p>\n
But the starkness of the choice confronting Turkeys 64 million voters is accompanied by soaring tensions and lingering fears over what Erdogan would do if he lost a narrow vote.<\/p>\n
Kilicdaroglu wore a bulletproof vest to his two rallies on Friday after receiving what his party described as a credible threat on his life.<\/p>\n
He gave an uncharacteristically short evening speech in Ankara that was originally played up by his campaign.<\/p>\n
Kilicdaroglus running mate Ekrem Imamoglu a popular figure who beat Erdogans ally in controversial 2019 Istanbul mayoral polls was pelted by rocks days earlier while touring Turkeys conservative heartland.<\/p>\n
Turkish officials launched a formal investigation and made some arrests.<\/p>\n
But several senior officials in Erdogans ruling party accused the Istanbul mayor of provoking the incident.<\/p>\n
The voting will include southeastern regions that lie in ruins in the wake of a February quake that claimed more than 50,000 lives.<\/p>\n
The level of anger in these traditionally pro-Erdogan regions could also help swing Sundays outcome.<\/p>\n
Were not happy to be voting in the middle of rubble, but we want the government to change, said Diber Simsek, a resident of the city of Antakya that sustained major damage in the disaster.<\/p>\n
by Fulya OZERKAN with Burcin GERCEK in Ankara and Remi BANET in Antakya, Turkey<\/p>\n
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Erdogan leads prayers on eve of fight for political life - Macau Business<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan will lead Saturday prayers at Istanbuls iconic Hagia Sophia mosque, ahead of a battle for his political life against a powerful secular rival. The 69-year-old will be emulating a ritual that Ottoman Sultans performed before they led their men off to war as he braces for Sundays parliamentary and presidential ballot. Continue reading