Erdogan Attracts 1.7 Mln Turks at IST Campaign Rally

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, leader and founder of Justice and Development Party (AKP), initiated his largest campaign rally ever in Istanbul on Sunday. A historic throng of 1.7 million people gathered to support him at Ataturk Airport Public Garden ahead of the May 14 elections.
Erdogan is wagering on his popularity in the capital region to push him over the top yet again in saying, “If Istanbul says ‘yes,’ this will end.”
Turkey’s strong man for the past two decades is a candidate once again–albeit with lower popularity–and facing strong competition in his major opponent, Kemal Kilicdaroglu, the secularist Republican People’s Party (CHP) leader who is supported by a coalition of six opposition parties.
Erdogan’s popularity has dwindled in recent years as a succession of currency collapses and a worsening cost-of-living issue has been exacerbated by his strategy of reducing interest rates in the face of surging inflation. In addition, his response to the catastrophically unprecedented February earthquake in southern regions was roundly criticized both domestically and around the globe.
Indeed, his approval ratings had actually begun to decline half way into his tenure–around 2013–however; in many sectors of the economy, Erdogan and his Islamic-rooted AK Party initiated unprecedented development and prosperity for the nation.
Erdogan was given roughly 33 hours of airtime on Turkey’s primary state-run television network in April. His presidential opponent, Kemal Kilicdaroglu, was provided a mere 32 minutes, according to opposition members who consulted with a broadcasting watchdog.
Kilicdaroglu has promised a return to traditional economic policies and to the legislative form of administration, as well as guaranteeing freedom of discourse for those critical of court proceedings.
The vocal opposition leader hopes to expand upon the Republican People’s Party 2019 triumph, when the CHP upset Erdogan’s ruling AKP in local elections in Istanbul and other major cities, in capitalizing on support from other opposition parties.