They may be political opponents with very different ideas about how the country should be run, but the two main contenders in Turkey’s elections on Sunday know each other – and the rough-and-tumble world of Turkish politics – quite well.
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Kemal Kilicdaroglu have been locked in electoral combat for years, with Mr Kilicdaroglu, the 74-year-old leader of the secular Republican People’s Party having lost several national elections to Mr Erdogan. This time, however, polling has put the CHP leader and his electoral bloc neck-and-neck with Mr Erdogan and his Justice and Development Party-led coalition. Whatever the result of the weekend’s parliamentary and presidential contests, the elections will have major implications for the Middle East and beyond.
Turkey, thanks to its geography and history, has significant influence. Turkish troops are in flashpoint areas of Syria and Iraq, and Ankara’s Nato membership gives it a military partnership with a global superpower and major strategic influence, although it remains mired in airspace and maritime disputes with neighbours in the Aegean and the Eastern Mediterranean. Economically, Turkey has strong trade ties with several Arab nations, including the UAE, but the country’s bid for EU membership remains moribund.
However, it is at home where the election results will be most keenly felt. Ankara is grappling with several serious domestic challenges, including inflation, a depreciating currency and, most acutely, the aftermath of February’s devastating earthquake in southern and central Turkey that cost an estimated 50,000 lives. For the past nine years, Turkey has also been hosting more refugees from neighbouring Syria than any other country – four million, according to the UN.
These issues are just some that have formed the backdrop to an intriguing election campaign. Mr Erdogan, who has led Turkey for more than 20 years, is going head to head with a perennial rival who, although almost as familiar to Turkish voters as Mr Erdogan, has seen big turnouts at election rallies and enjoys the backing of potential future CHP presidential candidates: Istanbul mayor Ekrem Imamoglu and Ankara mayor Mansur Yavas.
An estimated 6 million first-time voters – about 10 per cent of the electorate – will be eligible to cast their ballot this weekend. These voters, who have known no other leader aside from Mr Erdogan, will play a critical role in this keenly fought contest. Every vote will count – turnouts in Turkish elections are historically high, almost 83 per cent on average, according to data from the International Foundation for Electoral Systems. Many members of the 6.5-million strong Turkish diaspora have already voted and the fervour of the campaigning shows that Turkey’s tradition of electoral democracy remains strong, almost 100 years after the founding of the republic.
Whomever emerges triumphant – and the presidential race could go to a second round of voting on May 28 if no candidate wins more than 50 per cent on Sunday – will have their work cut out for them. Many challenges at home and abroad remain but it is important for many neighbouring and regional countries that Turkey remains a stable and engaged partner. Its role in helping to broker a grain-export deal amid the conflict between Ukraine and Russia is just one example of how important the country is.
This will likely be the last electoral tussle between Mr Erdogan and Mr Kilicdaroglu. It has been a turbulent ride for both men over the years – in July 2016, the Turkish president narrowly escaped abduction during an attempted coup. The following month, Mr Kilicdaroglu survived a gun attack on his convoy near the north-eastern city of Artvin. Despite their differences, they both have years of experience in the challenging world of Turkish politics but only one of them will go on to lead the nation for the next five years. Friends of the country stand ready to work with whomever wins the Turkish people’s trust.
Company%20Profile
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COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The specs
AT4 Ultimate, as tested
Engine: 6.2-litre V8
Power: 420hp
Torque: 623Nm
Transmission: 10-speed automatic
Price: From Dh330,800 (Elevation: Dh236,400; AT4: Dh286,800; Denali: Dh345,800)
On sale: Now
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
MATCH INFO
Liverpool 3
Sadio Man 28'
Andrew Robertson 34'
Diogo Jota 88'
Arsenal 1
Lacazette 25'
Man of the match
Sadio Mane (Liverpool)
Why seagrass matters
- Carbon sink: Seagrass sequesters carbon up to 35X faster than tropical rainforests
- Marine nursery: Crucial habitat for juvenile fish, crustations, and invertebrates
- Biodiversity: Support species like sea turtles, dugongs, and seabirds
- Coastal protection: Reduce erosion and improve water quality
Read more from Mina Al-Oraibi
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The specs: 2018 Bentley Bentayga V8
Price, base: Dh853,226
Engine: 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8
Transmission: Eight-speed automatic
Power: 550hp @ 6,000pm
Torque: 770Nm @ 1,960rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 11.4L / 100km
More from Neighbourhood Watch:
Specs
Engine: 51.5kW electric motor
Range: 400km
Power: 134bhp
Torque: 175Nm
Price: From Dh98,800
Available: Now
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%3Cp%3EFirst%20ODI%20-%20Sunday%2C%20June%204%20%0D%3Cbr%3ESecond%20ODI%20-%20Tuesday%2C%20June%206%20%0D%3Cbr%3EThird%20ODI%20-%20Friday%2C%20June%209%26nbsp%3B%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EMatches%20at%20Sharjah%20Cricket%20Stadium.%20All%20games%20start%20at%204.30pm%0D%3Cbr%3E%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EUAE%20squad%3C%2Fstrong%3E%0D%3Cbr%3EMuhammad%20Waseem%20(captain)%2C%20Aayan%20Khan%2C%20Adithya%20Shetty%2C%20Ali%20Naseer%2C%20Ansh%20Tandon%2C%20Aryansh%20Sharma%2C%20Asif%20Khan%2C%20Basil%20Hameed%2C%20Ethan%20D%E2%80%99Souza%2C%20Fahad%20Nawaz%2C%20Jonathan%20Figy%2C%20Junaid%20Siddique%2C%20Karthik%20Meiyappan%2C%20Lovepreet%20Singh%2C%20Matiullah%2C%20Mohammed%20Faraazuddin%2C%20Muhammad%20Jawadullah%2C%20Rameez%20Shahzad%2C%20Rohan%20Mustafa%2C%20Sanchit%20Sharma%2C%20Vriitya%20Aravind%2C%20Zahoor%20Khan%0D%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
ELIO
Starring: Yonas Kibreab, Zoe Saldana, Brad Garrett
Directors: Madeline Sharafian, Domee Shi, Adrian Molina
Rating: 4/5
Veil (Object Lessons)
Rafia Zakaria
Bloomsbury Academic
Ferrari 12Cilindri specs
Engine: naturally aspirated 6.5-liter V12
Power: 819hp
Torque: 678Nm at 7,250rpm
Price: From Dh1,700,000
Available: Now
COMPANY%20PROFILE%20
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How much do leading UAE’s UK curriculum schools charge for Year 6?
- Nord Anglia International School (Dubai) – Dh85,032
- Kings School Al Barsha (Dubai) – Dh71,905
- Brighton College Abu Dhabi - Dh68,560
- Jumeirah English Speaking School (Dubai) – Dh59,728
- Gems Wellington International School – Dubai Branch – Dh58,488
- The British School Al Khubairat (Abu Dhabi) - Dh54,170
- Dubai English Speaking School – Dh51,269
*Annual tuition fees covering the 2024/2025 academic year
Founders: Ines Mena, Claudia Ribas, Simona Agolini, Nourhan Hassan and Therese Hundt
Date started: January 2017, app launched November 2017
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Private/Retail/Leisure
Number of Employees: 18 employees, including full-time and flexible workers
Funding stage and size: Seed round completed Q4 2019 - $1m raised
Funders: Oman Technology Fund, 500 Startups, Vision Ventures, Seedstars, Mindshift Capital, Delta Partners Ventures, with support from the OQAL Angel Investor Network and UAE Business Angels
TOURNAMENT INFO
Opening fixtures:
Friday, Oct 5
8pm: Kabul Zwanan v Paktia Panthers
Saturday, Oct 6
4pm: Nangarhar Leopards v Kandahar Knights
8pm: Kabul Zwanan v Balkh Legends
Tickets
Tickets can be bought online at https://www.q-tickets.com/apl/eventlist and at the ticket office at the stadium.
TV info
The tournament will be broadcast live in the UAE on OSN Sports.
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Xpanceo
Started: 2018
Founders: Roman Axelrod, Valentyn Volkov
Based: Dubai, UAE
Industry: Smart contact lenses, augmented/virtual reality
Funding: $40 million
Investor: Opportunity Venture (Asia)
Our legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants
57%20Seconds
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States of Passion by Nihad Sirees,
Pushkin Press
BMW M5 specs
Engine: 4.4-litre twin-turbo V-8 petrol enging with additional electric motor
Power: 727hp
Torque: 1,000Nm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 10.6L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh650,000
The Sand Castle
Director: Matty Brown
Stars: Nadine Labaki, Ziad Bakri, Zain Al Rafeea, Riman Al Rafeea
Rating: 2.5/5
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Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
If you go:
The flights: Etihad, Emirates, British Airways and Virgin all fly from the UAE to London from Dh2,700 return, including taxes
The tours: The Tour for Muggles usually runs several times a day, lasts about two-and-a-half hours and costs £14 (Dh67)
Harry Potter and the Cursed Child is on now at the Palace Theatre. Tickets need booking significantly in advance
Entrance to the Harry Potter exhibition at the House of MinaLima is free
The hotel: The grand, 1909-built Strand Palace Hotel is in a handy location near the Theatre District and several of the key Harry Potter filming and inspiration sites. The family rooms are spacious, with sofa beds that can accommodate children, and wooden shutters that keep out the light at night. Rooms cost from £170 (Dh808).
Specs
Engine: Dual-motor all-wheel-drive electric
Range: Up to 610km
Power: 905hp
Torque: 985Nm
Price: From Dh439,000
Available: Now
