With less than 20 days before the Turkish elections, the People’s Alliance and the Nation Alliance continue campaigning, believing they are set to win. At the same time, pollsters continue to release numbers supporting both sides’ claim of imminent victory, making the campaign more tense and ambitious.
Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, the opposition bloc’s presidential candidate and chairperson of the Republican People's Party (CHP), released two videos titled “Kurds” and “Alevi” last week. He claimed that “millions of Kurds were treated like terrorists for a few votes” in the first video. In the second, he identified as “Alevi” and called on young people to “tear down this discriminatory system claiming that an Alevi cannot (hold office).”
Ironically, the level of difficulty increases as the Turkish opposition bloc's 'processes' become clearer
'Ahead of next year’s elections, identity-related topics like the government’s Alevi initiative and a proposed constitutional safeguard for the religious headscarf have come to the forefront of political discussions'
'As the government prepares to take additional steps as part of its positive agenda, much more will be said about the opposition’s delayed unveiling of its program – the Republic’s future – not to mention its continued inability to endorse a joint presidential candidate'