According to a recent opinion poll, only 20 percent of young people between the ages of 18 and 25 will vote for the Turkish president and his party in the presidential and legislative elections on May 14, which are considered the most dangerous for Erdogan since he came to power in 2003.
Ali Verli is 18 years old, and he only knew Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in power. This student will vote in the presidential elections scheduled for May 14 for opposition candidate Kemal Kilicdaroglu. “I am tired of waking up every day thinking about politics,” he said. “When President Erdogan is gone, young people will be able to focus on their exams and express their opinions freely.”
Similar to Omar, there are 5.2 million young voters who grew up under Erdogan’s rule, or about 8 percent of the voters, and they are invited to cast their votes in the upcoming elections.
“Through you this spring will come,” Kemal Kilicdaroglu, head of the Social-Democratic Republican People’s Party, the candidate of a coalition of six opposition parties, told young people in mid-April in Ankara.
According to a recent opinion poll, only 20 percent of young people between the ages of 18 and 25 will vote for the Turkish president and his party in the presidential and legislative elections on May 14, which are considered the most dangerous for Erdogan since he came to power in 2003.
With the elections approaching, Erdogan, 69, and Kilicdaroglu, 74, are competing on promises to woo the younger generation, such as canceling the tax on purchasing mobile phones, a free internet package, and a youth card, to the extent that the third candidate, Muharram Ince, is trying to appear as a youth candidate.
“Voting for Erdogan is lower among young people. Voters who vote for the first time are more modern, less religious than the average voter, and more than half of them are dissatisfied with the life they lead,” says Erman Bakirci, a researcher at the Kunda Poll Institute.
Erdogan must go.
In Istanbul’s famous Kasimpasa district, young people openly express their boredom. “Erdogan must go! All my neighbors will vote for him, but not me,” says Gökan Celik, 19.
For his part, Firat Yordayet, a 21-year-old textile worker, says that he built a third airport in Istanbul “instead of caring for the people,” he says: “I will vote for Muharrem Ince. But no matter who is elected, he will always be better than Erdogan.”
His friend Bilal Buyukler, 24, will vote for Erdogan, but at the same time he acknowledges that the Turkish president is “partially responsible” for the 50 percent inflation rate and for the collapse of the Turkish lira. “I cannot find a job because of the Syrian refugees, and I cannot marry,” he said. It’s very expensive, but I don’t see any alternative.” This young man adds, “I can’t vote for Kilicdaroglu because of religion. He stomped on a prayer rug!” Referring to a fatal mistake made by this candidate and greatly exploited by the outgoing president and the pro-government press.
“an obstacle to my dreams”
But Kemal Kilicdaroglu was keen to erase the very secular image of his party, which has always alienated conservative voters. The candidate went so far as to propose a law that guarantees the wearing of the veil, which is a way to win over the base of conservative women, who traditionally vote for Erdogan, who allowed veiled students to go to university. “Mr. Kemal will not let you lose your earnings,” Kilicdaroglu promised at the end of March in an appeal to conservative young women.
His party also allied with three organizations from the Islamic-conservative movement, which is “a message of reconciliation addressed to religious voters, which is supposed to leave an impact” at the polls, according to what Sida Demiralp, a lecturer in political science at Ishik University in Istanbul, saw.
Sevgi, 20, lives in Eyup, one of the most conservative areas in Istanbul. She will vote on May 14, but she does not want to “mix politics with religion” and is particularly concerned about the state of the economy.
“Erdogan is the main obstacle to my dreams,” says this young woman, who had to work to finance her future studies. Her boyfriend interrupts, enumerating the successes attributed to Erdogan. She nodded, “Even if he’s a good president, he shouldn’t be able to rule for such a long period.”
