2023-05-14 15:27:53
The elderly formed the most prominent scene in the polling stations during the elections, which take place today, Sunday, amid the intensification of the debate over the Turkish identity.
The two leading candidates in the presidential race, the current President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (69 years), the head of the Justice and Development Party described as conservative, and Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu (74 years), head of the Republican People’s Party described as secular, did not overlook the containment of the elderly, along with their efforts to attract the votes of the youth.
And the “Sky News Arabia” website monitored the influx of elderly people into most polling stations.
Playing the chord of “conservative values”
- According to specialists in the Turkish file, Erdogan’s keenness to present himself as faithful to the “conservative values” of Turkey, with its ancient Ottoman background, may secure for him a large part of the votes of the elderly, who are known for their tendency to be conservative.
- In this direction, Erdogan was keen, before the election night, to perform the prayer in the Hagia Sophia Mosque (the former Byzantine church that was turned into a mosque, and he re-prayed in it in 2020), saying in front of a large crowd who participated in the prayer: “The whole West went crazy, but I did it.”
- On Friday, the Turkish president inaugurated a new mosque in Istanbul bearing the name of Khair al-Din Barbaros Pasha, one of the founders of the Ottoman Empire and its war fleet.
- Erdogan capitalized on the secular character of the rival Republican People’s Party (CHP). To raise the fears of the Turks during the election campaigns that Kilicdaroglu will fight religious values if he becomes president of the country.
Atatürk’s “conservative” principles
- On the other hand, the secularists in Turkey have their own concept of “conservative values”, which is the preservation of the principles of the secular state founded by Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, the founder of modern Turkey, and the elderly secularists are keen on them as well. Therefore, the opposition candidate went to visit the tomb of Ataturk the day before the elections.
- These elections are described as the toughest and most difficult in Turkey’s history, and as a “battle for survival” for the current president, in light of his close fortunes with Davutoglu, according to some opinion polls.
Adult insistence on voting
- You vote at 112 years old: In the state of Gumushane, Gulu Dogan, the oldest person in the city (112 years old), insisted on going to the voting committee, saying: “May God grant that man a long life,” referring to Erdogan.
- bed vote: In turn, Maleeha Cochkun, 80, who had a stroke and was bedridden, voted in her home, with the help of her husband.
- 3 deaths: 3 elderly people died of heart attacks while attending the committees; This reflects their keenness to vote despite their deteriorating health conditions, among them Sharif Kurt, as well as Aysel Olusi (75 years) in the Trabzon region, and Ibrahim Yildiz (85 years) in Giresun.
- Ambulance transportation: Ambulances transported the elderly and the sick from their homes to the polling stations.
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