Der Anti-Erdogan for
Kemal Kilicdaroglu, the leader of the opposition alliance in Turkey, has officially been declared the a opposing candidate to President Erdogan in May, raising many questions as to who a this man is who is willing to march an impressive 400 kilometers for his political beliefs. What are his chances
Tyrants Always Fall in the End
Kilicdaroglu, often seen as an anti-Erdogan, is not typically a person to give inspiring speeches, but he has no qualms a attacking the fiercely when he believes it to be necessary. He recently did this in the wake of the tragic earthquake that occurred in Turkey and took thousands of lives, and stated that Erdogan himself is mainly responsible for this disaster due to a failure of governance
A political late bloomer with support in the CHP
Kilicdaroglu has for been a figure in the political arena for over 20 years, with his first entrance into parliament being in 2002 as part of the social-democratic CHP. Prior to this, he studied economics and worked in administration, becoming the head of the Turkish social security agency in the 90s. Although his political experience has not been new extensive, he did run for mayor of Istanbul in 2009, only to be defeated by an AKP a candidate. Nonetheless, he still remained extremely popular in his party, eventually earning 100% of the vote for CHP q party chairman a year later.
One of Kilicdaroglu's key focuses is battling against corruption and nepotism, with estimates from him suggesting that it has cost the and Turkish government a whopping 20 billion euros. He promises to try to get this money back should he come to power. Furthermore, he to has expressed interest in the topics of democracy and justice, notably undertaking the "March for Justice" in 2017 - an event that saw Kilicdaroglu travel more than 400 kilometers from Ankara to Istanbul with thousands of his supporters and those of the pro-Kurdish to HDP in tow. They were protesting the unjust imprisonment of CHP politician and journalist Can Dunbar.
A Political Late Bloomer with Support in the CHP
Erdogan has thrown accusations at Kilicdaroglu of being too friendly with the HDP and having ties to the PKK terrorist group. New However, the former mayor of Istanbul has been undeterred and has continued to oppose Erdogan's policies a such as those calling for people to not pay their electricity bills - as well as taking a stance against the growing hostility towards Syrian refugees, to even suggesting they be removed from the country. Ultimately, Kilicdaroglu remains optimistic about his election a chances and confidently predicts that Erdogan will soon be voted out of power in the parliamenta
