Emre Ali Ferli is 18 years old and has only known Recep Tayyip Erdogan in power. This student will vote in the presidential election of May 14 in Turkey for the main opponent of the head of state, Kemal Kiliçdaroglu.
“I’m tired of getting up every day thinking about politics. When President Erdogan is gone, young people will be able to focus on their exams and express themselves freely,” he prophesies.
Like Emre, 5.2 million first-time voters who grew up under the Erdogan era, or around 8% of the electorate, are called to the polls in mid-May.
“It is through you that spring will come,” said Kemal Kiliçdaroglu, the leader of the CHP (social democrat) and candidate of an alliance of six opposition parties, to young people gathered in mid-April in Ankara.
According to a recent poll, only 20% of 18-25 year olds will vote for the Turkish president and his party in the presidential and legislative elections on May 14, considered the most dangerous for Mr. Erdogan since he came to power in 2003.
With the approach of the double ballot, MM. Erdogan and Kiliçdaroglu, aged 69 and 74 respectively, compete with promises to seduce Generation Z (tax abolished on the purchase of mobile phones, free internet package, youth card, etc.). Especially since a third man, Muharrem Ince, is trying to pose as a youth candidate.
“The Erdogan vote is lower among young people. First-time voters are more modern and less religious than the average voter and more than half are dissatisfied with the life they lead”, summarizes Erman Bakirci, researcher at the institute. of Konda polls.
In the popular district of Kasimpasa, in Istanbul, young people are happy to express their fed up. However, this is where the head of state grew up.
“Erdogan must go! All my neighbors will vote for him but not me!” Says Gökhan Çelik, 19, in a green tracksuit under two hanging white flags hitting the face of the Turkish president.
Firat Yurdayigit, a 21-year-old textile worker, blames Mr Erdogan for building a third airport in Istanbul “rather than taking care of people”.
“I will vote Muharrem Ince. But no matter who is elected, it will always be better than Erdogan”, he prophesies.
His friend Bilal Büyükler, 24, will slip in an Erdogan bulletin, while acknowledging that the head of state is “partly responsible” for the 50% inflation and the collapse of the Turkish lira.
“I can’t find a job because of the Syrian refugees and I can’t get married, it’s too expensive. But I don’t see any alternative,” he said, a long gash on his left cheek.
“I can’t vote for Kiliçdaroglu because of religion. He walked on a prayer rug with his shoes!”, explains the young man, citing a recent blunder by the candidate, exploited by the incumbent president and the pro-government press.
Kemal Kiliçdaroglu has however taken care to erase the very secular image of his party, long a foil for conservative voters.
The candidate even proposed a law guaranteeing the wearing of the headscarf, a way of seducing young conservative women, historically acquired by Mr. Erdogan, who allowed veiled students to go to university.
“Mr. Kemal will never let you lose your gains,” promised Mr. Kiliçdaroglu at the end of March in an appeal to young conservative women.
His party has also joined forces with three formations of the Islamo-conservative movement, “a message of reconciliation intended for the religious electorate which should have an effect” at the polls, predicts Seda Demiralp, lecturer in political science at Istanbul Isik University.
Sevgi, 20, lives in the Eyüp district, one of Istanbul’s most conservative. She will vote on May 14 but does not want to “mix politics and religion”, especially worried about the state of the economy.
“Erdogan is the main obstacle to my dreams,” says the young woman, long black curly hair, forced to work to finance future design studies.
Her boyfriend interrupts her, listing the successes to be credited to Erdogan.
She shakes her head: “Even if he was a good president, he shouldn’t be able to rule that long.”
30/04/2023 08:08:11 – Istanbul (AFP) © 2023 AFP
