Turkish politicians and their parties are putting on a striking political performance as they campaign tirelessly for the upcoming presidential and parliamentary polls slated for May 14.
Presidential runners, incumbent Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in particular, have covered thousands of kilometers, visiting three separate cities and holding multiple rallies on the same day as they worked to drive up enthusiasm and support for their bid in the top race.
Many expected the pre-election period to be more subdued after two catastrophic earthquakes left over 50,000 dead in Türkiye's southeast but parties have tightened their schedules following rehabilitation efforts in the disaster-stricken region.
After introducing his ruling Justice and Development Party’s (AK Party) parliamentary candidates, Erdoğan hit the campaign trail on April 11.
Setting a breathtaking pace, the 69-year-old leader kicked off his rallies in the Malatya province and toured other earthquake-stricken cities several times.
Having attended openings, groundbreaking ceremonies, and meetings in nearly 30 provinces so far, often visiting three cities on the same day, Erdoğan is due to address crowds in the capital Ankara on Thursday and Istanbul on Friday just before the campaigning period ends.
Erdoğan’s main challenger and opposition’s joint Presidential contender Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu has also kept an upbeat tempo as he toured eastern provinces like Ağrı and Van, moving on to western, southwestern, and northeastern areas through central cities and also squeezing three rallies on the same day.
Before Sunday’s voting begins, 74-year-old Kılıçdaroğlu is scheduled to take to the stage in western Aydın, Kütahya, central Sivas, and northern Samsun provinces and conclude his campaign in the capital.
Meral Akşener, the head of the six-party opposition alliance’s second-largest Good Party (IP), covered 49 provinces throughout the three weeks of her campaign while Erdoğan’s biggest ally Devlet Bahçeli, 75, journeyed to 34 cities, starting his rallies as early as September 2022 in Sivas.
The other two presidential runners, Muharrem Ince, and Sinan Oğan, are still on bus tours nationwide.
According to analysts, the leaders’ fast-paced and competitive campaigns could amp up already-high voter turnout in Türkiye for what will likely be the most consequential election in the republic’s history.
Attendance figures were 86.2% for the last presidential election in 2018 and 85.2% for the 2015 general polls.
Voting has already wrapped up for Turks living abroad and marked a record-breaking turnout of 51%, comprising over 1.8 million people worldwide. In Türkiye, nearly 62 million electorates are registered, including some 5 million first-time voters.
On May 14, Erdoğan will cast his vote in Istanbul while his three rivals will go to polls in Ankara.
