Elections in Turkey. Kemal Kilicdaroglu – who is the leader of the opposition, Turkish Gandhi? Silhouette

The presidential and parliamentary elections scheduled for May 14 in Turkey are considered the most important elections in the world this year. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan he will face the candidate of the united Turkish opposition, Kemal Kilicdaroglu. Their increasingly fierce rivalry divided them Turkeybut polls and experts give Kilicdaroglu a real chance of winning. Who is the politician who can end Erdogan’s strong rule after 20 years?

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Born in 1948, Kemal Kilicdaroglu was the fourth of seven children of a housewife and civil servant. The family, who lived in Tunceli in eastern Turkey, belonged to the Alevis, a Muslim religious minority that is a branch of Shiism. The current leader of the Turkish opposition in his youth often had to change his place of residence, following his father’s changing place of work with the whole family.

After studying economics at Ankara University, Kemal Kilicdaroglu himself followed in his father’s footsteps and started working as a financial official in state authorities. When in the 1990s he was the director of the Turkish Social Insurance Institution, he became famous for cracking down on the previously widespread corruption in this institution. He also gained the title of “Bureaucrat of the Year”, and according to experts, this stage of his career says a lot about what kind of person he is.

“Kilicdaroglu, who is not known for his charisma or emotive personality, is a fierce worker if he so wills, promising Turkey a more peaceful future, eradicating corruption and holding those responsible to account,” he said, quoted by the American National Public Radio. Soli Ozel, lecturer at Istanbul’s Kadir Has University.

Kemal Kilicdaroglu got involved in politics at the beginning of this century. In 2002, he ran for the Republican People’s Party (CHP) in the parliamentary elections and for the first time got to the Grand National Assembly of Turkey, i.e. the unicameral Turkish parliament. Five years later he was re-elected. Later, he received a parliamentary mandate four more times, the last time in 2018.

Between successive parliamentary elections in 2009, Kemal Kilicdaroglu unsuccessfully ran for mayor of Istanbul. He recouped this setback a year later when he was elected CHP’s new chairman. As the BBC reminds, the 74-year-old politician initially refused this function, explaining that he did not want to take advantage of the sex scandal that resulted in the removal of the previous head of the party. Eventually, however, he changed his mind and accepted the proposal, which enabled him to gradually change his own party and its place among the Turkish opposition.

The CHP is a social democratic party founded in 1919 by the co-founder of modern Turkey – Mustafa Kemal Ataturk. This traditionally secular, reformist party, advocating the separation of state and church, over time began to evolve under the rule of Kemal Kilicdaroglu, who wanted to transform it into a party capable of gaining the widest possible support and taking power in Turkey. For this purpose, e.g. he broke with the anti-religious rhetoric of the CHP to win over some conservatives, and in the party he also began to support the careers of hitherto marginalized women and Kurdish activists.

In 2018, Kilicdaroglu led the CHP to strengthen its ties with the Good Party (iyi Parti). They created an alliance which was later joined by other opposition formations: the Party of Happiness, the Democratic Party, the Party of Democracy and Progress and the Party of the Future. In early March 2023, these groups announced that Kemal Kilicdaroglu would be their joint candidate in the presidential election in Turkey.

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Although Kemal Kilicdaroglu does not have the same charisma and is not as expressive as Recep Tayyip Erdogan, he stands out in his own way. One of his trademarks is his popular nickname “Kemal Gandhi”, meaning “Turkish Gandhi”. While he clung to Kilicdaroglu mainly because of his physical resemblance to former Indian leader Mahatma Gandhi, he seems to fit in in other respects as well.

First of all, because of his patience, calmness and composure worthy of an Indian philosopher. When in 2014 he was hit in the face during parliamentary sessions, he immediately appealed to his party colleagues to remain calm. “The road to democracy is full of obstacles,” he said. Nor did it explode three years later when, during the funeral of a Turkish soldier, he was the victim of an attempted lynching by a mob. “Such actions cannot stop us,” he repeated.

“He is so calm that sometimes he even drives his colleagues crazy. He never raises his voice”, this is how Kilicdaroglu begins the BBC, citing a statement from a man close to the politician. “When I first met him, I was immediately convinced that he was not a revolutionary leader, but an evolutionary one,” said another party colleague of “Turkish Gandhi”, Melda Onur, quoted by the BBC. – He locks his target and sticks to it with incredible composure, which ultimately wins you over. He can also be very decisive when he sees it as appropriate.

In an interview with tvn24.pl, Dr. Karol Wasilewski, an expert on Turkey, also pointed out other attributes of Kemal Kilicdaroglu. – In the fight for the nomination, he ultimately prevailed with his determination, egocentrism and experience in public administration. However, it can be said that he has prevailed over what Turkey now needs most after Erdogan’s long rule and his political machismo, he noted.

A possible election victory for Kemal Kilicdaroglu would be a confirmation that Turkish democracy still works. Concerns about this have been raised for years, when in subsequent terms of office Erdogan concentrated more and more power in his hands and gave the president – i.e. himself – further powers. Opposition voters hope that this centralization, pushing Turkey towards an authoritarian system, will be reversed. “For sure, returning to the parliamentary system will be the first step towards restoring our democracy,” said Turkish activist Meral Cildir, quoted by NPR.

An equally important problem for Kemal Kilicdaroglu would be restoring the independence of the judiciary, improving the education system, and fixing a seriously unstable economy. Especially the latter task seems to be equally urgent for all Turks, whose money is eaten today by more than 50% of inflation. And Kilicdaroglu, a meticulous accountant by training, is known for his penchant for budgetary discipline.

For the rest of the world, especially Europe, a possible electoral victory of the opposition in Turkey would mean gaining an easier partner for talks. Kilicdaroglu proved his talents in dialogue by uniting the Turkish opposition, divided for many years. In addition, he has repeatedly mentioned the will to repair relations with the West, and even to resume accession talks with the European Union.

However, experts agree that fundamental changes in Turkey’s foreign policy should not be expected. Ankara benefits from balancing the influences of the East and the West, in fact focusing primarily on achieving its own goals. – Turkey will never be a good ally again, because it considers this Western label derogatory – emphasizes Dr. Karol Wasilewski.

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