amna: This Sunday, more than 60
million Turks will cast their
ballot to decide the country's
next president.
Turkey is a nato member, part of
the g20, and for two decades has
been led by reccep tayyip
erdogan.
The opposition calls him
authoritarian.
He calls them terrorists.
And as Nick schifrin reports,
erdogan faces his toughest
battle yet in an election that
could have major implications
for Turkey, and its allies.
Nick: In the city that propelled
him to power three decades ago,
the man dubbed Turkey's new
sultan unleashed new insults.
Turkish president reccep tayyip
erdogan last weekend branded his
opponent pro-lgbt, a supporter
of terrorism, and a drunkard.
>> Mr. Kemal, drink as much as
you want.
You can drink a full keg, but
even that will not make you
better.
My nation will not give the
floor to an alcoholic.
Nick: Mr. Kemal is opposition
candidate, who focuses on
kitchen table issues from his
kitchen table.
>> This is the real agenda of
the people, as they all know
that when I come to power, there
will be democracy, and your
purchasing power will increase.
Nick: He has pressed that
message at his own massive
rallies.
And a unified opposition of a
half a dozen parties poses the
greatest electoral threat that
erdogan has ever faced.
>> I know it's a cliche for the
politicians to say that the
upcoming elections are
existential, but in Turkey's
case, it's actually true.
Nick: Gonul tol is the founding
director of the Middle East
institute's Turkey program, and
the author of erdogan's war.
>> If he wins another term, I
think Turkey will degenerate
further into an authoritarian
regime.
If the opposition wins, however,
I think Turkish democracy will
have a shot.
Nick: Voters' number one issue
has been sticker shock.
Today inflation is more than 40
percent, down from 85 percent
last November.
>> They've said inflation is 85%
but I don't think it is 85%.
It feels around 250%-300%.
Nick: 31 year old melike Saka
told us she feels the cost of
living crisis as consumer and
seller.
She works at a deli that's a
family affair.
That's her father.
They've never witnessed
consumers buying less, or
profits dropping faster.
>> The quantities that we sold
have decreased.
I can say our sales have
decreased by half.
Nick: Turkey's economic pain
runs deep, but analysts say
erdogan's unorthodox
prescription of slashing
interest rates made the country
sicker.
>> The country's faltering
economy and the cost of living
crisis has been high on the
voters agenda.
And these economic troubles are
largely of president erdogan's
own making.
And the second problem for
voters is this growing
repression.
Nick: In 2013, police and the
government cracked down on
critics after massive
anti-government protests.
In 2016, the government accused
the military of a failed coup
and erdogan launched a society
, wide purge.
50,000 arrested.
150,000 lost their jobs or were
suspended, including teachers
branded terrorists, who clashed
with police.
And critical journalists like
cumhuriyet books magazine editor
turhan gunay were detained, as
he told me back in 2017.
What happens to people in Turkey
right now if they oppose the
government?
>> I can only answer this
question through my own
experience, and that is: You are
thrown into jail.
The government has no tolerance
for the slightest criticism.
Nick: And the 2018 election
created a new presidential
system that increased erdogan's
powers.
>> From now on, it's time for
the president and the parliament
to do more work.
Nick: But that portrayal of
himself crumbled in February's
earthquake.
Countless buildings collapsed.
At least 50,000 people died.
Survivors criticized the
government for a slow response,
and for favoring builders who
cut corners.
>> He promised that if the
country switched to a
presidential system that would
grant him unprecedented powers,
that he would be able to solve
the country's pressing problems
in a more efficient way.
And on the day of the
earthquake, we saw that that was
not the case.
Nick: It was another mega quake
in that helped propel him to
1999 power.
He became prime minister in 2003
thanks to anger against the
secular, political elite.
He was the alternative -- a
religious, working-class
outsider who presented himself a
Progressive ally of the west,
and helped lead the country to
economic growth.
But today erdogan's charisma and
populism has divided society.
>> He has become a very
polarizing figure.
And that's why I think he's
facing such a huge challenge in
the upcoming vote, because he
always relied on others, relied
on alliances to secure a
majority, and for the first time
in nearly two decades, he's
struggling to find allies.
Nick: He's leaned on strongmen
including Russian president
Vladimir Putin for economic,
political, and military support.
An erdogan loss could weaken
that partnership.
And the opposition fears an
erdogan loss could also lead to
violence.
On Sunday a leading opposition
figure's bus was pelted with
stones, and erdogan's threatened
to take to the streets.
Today, kilicdaroglu aides said
he campaigned with a bulletproof
vest, and armed guards.
He and his wife have made a
heart their symbol.
And he hopes to put an end to
what he calls 20 years of one
man rule.
For the pbs newshour, I'm Nick
schifrin.
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