Hi there,

Today is your last chance to donate during Public Media Giving Days, a time to celebrate what public and independent media gives to you by giving back. If you think Democracy Now!’s reporting is a critical line of defense against war, climate catastrophe and authoritarianism, please make your donation of $10 or more right now. In honor of Public Media Giving Days, a generous donor will TRIPLE your donation, which means it’ll go 3x as far to support our independent journalism. Democracy Now! is funded by you, and that’s why we’re counting on your donation to keep us going strong. Please give today. Every dollar makes a difference—in fact, gets tripled! Thank you so much.
-Amy Goodman

Non-commercial news needs your support.

We rely on contributions from you, our viewers and listeners to do our work. If you visit us daily or weekly or even just once a month, now is a great time to make your monthly contribution.

Please do your part today.

Donate

President Erdogan Faces Challenge from More Liberal Kilicdaroglu as Turks Reel from Earthquake

HeadlineMay 10, 2023

In Turkey, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his main rival, Kemal Kilicdaroglu, have held massive rallies ahead of crucial elections this Sunday that could see the end of Erdogan’s rule after more than two decades in power. President Erdogan announced Tuesday his government is raising its workers’ salaries by 45% in a bid to counter voter concerns over the country’s ailing economy amid soaring inflation. Erdogan is also facing continued backlash over his response to the catastrophic February earthquake and damning reports of lax building regulations and neglecting warnings about the safety of structures.

Mehmet Genc: “Let’s talk the truth here now. My whole family is gone. They are all deceased. Why wouldn’t I be angry against the government? No machinery came to help. Nothing did.”

Kemal Kilicdaroglu, who is backed by a multiparty alliance, has vowed to pursue closer ties with NATO and the EU, and reinforce democratic institutions like independent courts and a free press. He also said he would reverse Erdogan’s dissolution of the position of prime minister in the 2017 constitutional referendum.

Kemal Kilicdaroglu: “We are not going to leave the fate of the Turkish Republic in the hand of one person, and no one will accept the words of just one person.”

Conservative President Erdogan has also appealed to his religious base, accusing his opponent of being “pro-LGBT” at an Istanbul rally Sunday.

The original content of this program is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License. Please attribute legal copies of this work to democracynow.org. Some of the work(s) that this program incorporates, however, may be separately licensed. For further information or additional permissions, contact us.

Non-commercial news needs your support

We rely on contributions from our viewers and listeners to do our work.
Please do your part today.
Make a donation
Top