“There will be chaotic conditions”

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Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (69) must tremble: in the elections of May 14, challenger Kemal Kilicdaroglu (74) could remove him from office after ten years. The chance of that is greater than ever. In the polls, Kilicdaroglu currently leads with 48 percent against Erdogan with 38 percent. If no one wins an absolute majority, there will be a second round on May 28.

The result will probably be close – even in the election of the 600-member parliament. That is why every vote counts for the approximately 64 million eligible voters, about 100,000 of whom live in Switzerland.

The Swiss-Turkish Aslan S.*, who regularly acts as an election observer for the Erdogan opposition, expects a large-scale march this weekend, especially in Zurich. For this reason, the polling station has been moved from the Consulate General to the grounds of the “Messe Zürich”. Aslan S. tells Blick, “There should be chaotic conditions.”

Arrival in cars

Experience from previous elections shows that many eligible voters arrive by car. “There will be long queues at the polling place and traffic chaos,” says Aslan S. The mood should be irritable. “Many feel the chance to get rid of Erdogan. You will see Erdogan supporters in line.”

A private security service maintains order in and around the exhibition building. The police will also mark presence. Pascal Siegenthaler (33), media spokesman for the Zurich city police, told Blick: “We will be there with, among other things, the consular protection of the Zurich city police.”

Turks removed from list

According to the Erdogan critic, there was already an irritable mood at the embassy in Bern last Sunday. “I had to re-register — along with many others — because we were removed from the list of eligible voters for unknown reasons,” says Aslan S.

Most of the people who queued for hours in front of the embassy were Erdogan critics. Aslan S.: “I suspect we were kicked out on purpose.” The embassy has not yet responded to the accusation.

The majority of Turks in Switzerland usually vote against Erdogan. Because many of them are Kurdish refugees whom the Turkish president classifies as terrorists and pursues. It is different in Germany, where the majority of Turkish voters vote for Erdogan.

What does Erdogan do with a defeat?

If Kilicdaroglu wins, the big question arises: will Erdogan accept defeat? Aslan S. does not believe in it. “The kindest response would be for him to claim voter fraud and have the election repeated.” He does not rule out that if Erdogan is defeated, he will even try to use force to stay in office.

Erdogan is part of the “People’s Alliance” electoral alliance with his Islamist-conservative AKP, the ultra-nationalist MHP, the nationalist-religious BBP and the Islamist YRP. Part of the opposition has joined forces to form the “Six-Tisch” alliance, led by the main opposition party, the CHP. The pro-Kurdish opposition party HDP has decided not to have its own candidate and thus strengthen the opposition alliance.

* Name known

Source: Blick