ISTANBUL: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan led Saturday prayers at Istanbul’s iconic Hagia Sophia mosque, ahead of a battle for his political life against a secular rival as he braces for Sunday’s parliamentary and presidential ballot.

Erdogan has never faced a more energised or united opposition than the one led by retired civil servant Kemal Kilicdaroglu and his disparate alliance of six parties. The Turkish leader excelled at splitting his rivals and forging unlikely unions while winning one national election after another over 21 years.

Amid Turkiye’s economic challenges, the six opposition parties have put aside their political and cultural differences and joined forces for the lone task of pushing Erdogan out. They are officially supported by Turkiye’s main pro-Kurdish party — a group that accounts for around 10 per cent of the vote.

Erdogan leads prayers at Hagia Sophia, as six-party opposition alliance joins forces to unseat him

Kilicdaroglu is now desperately trying to break the 50pc threshold and avoid a May 28 runoff that could give Erdogan a chance to regroup and reframe the debate. “Are you ready to bring democracy to this country? To bring peace to this country? I promise, I am ready too,” Kilicdaroglu told a rally in Ankara.

On the other hand, Erdogan was put in the uncomfortable position of being asked on TV what he would do if he lost. The veteran leader bristled and pledged to respect the vote. “We came to power in Turkiye by democratic means, with the approval of our people. If our people were to change their mind, we would do what democracy requires.”

His campaign path to re-election has taken him to the iconic Hagia Sophia, which he decided to convert back into a mosque nearly a century after Mustafa Kemal Ataturk had turned it into a museum during his secular post-Ottoman rule. His decision to convert it back into a mosque in 2020 solidified his hero status among his religious supporters and contributed to growing Western unease with his rule.

“The entire West got mad — but I did it,” Erdogan told an Istanbul rally on Saturday. He has played up religious themes and used culture wars to try and energise his conservative and nationalist base.

However, the voting will also include southeastern regions that lie in ruins in the wake of a February quake that claimed more than 50,000 lives. The level of anger in these traditionally pro-Erdogan regions could also help swing Sunday’s outcome.

Published in Dawn, May 14th, 2023