Turkey on the Eve of Presidential and Parliamentary Elections: Balance of Political Forces in the Country
... has evolved from a nationalist and Kemalist party into a more progressive and leftist force. The party leader abandoned opposition to the hijab and tried to build bridges with other political movements, including Islamists and conservative democrats. He also managed to convince Turkey’s nationalistic Good Party and the pro-Kurdish HDP to support the same candidate in the 2018 mayoral elections, when the opposition defeated the ruling AKP in Istanbul and Ankara for the first time in nearly two decades. Kılıçdaroğlu promised to send millions of Syrian refugees back home and to restore relations with Syrian President Bashar Assad as part of his election program. The CHP leader does not approve of Turkey’s purchase of Russian S-400 air defense systems, believing ...