Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is aiming to drive home an election victory to extend his rule well into a third decade and maintain the mix of foreign and economic policies that have set the country apart on the world stage.
Erdogan, 69, defied opinion polls that had projected a slim win for opponent Kemal Kilicdaroglu, 74, in the first-round vote for the presidency two weeks ago, sending the currency to new depths and corporate bonds and stocks tumbling. The pair now face each other in Sunday’s runoff, with the momentum behind the incumbent after the governing alliance led by his AK Party retained its majority in parliament.
Kilicdaroglu focused his campaign on restoring Turkey’s credibility among international investors, ending the authoritarian style of leadership and rooting out corruption from state institutions. A win for him would see the end of Erdogan’s diktat that the only way to fight inflation is to cut, rather than raise, interest rates. That, though, now appears less likely and financial markets are bracing for more pain.