Kemal Kilicdaroglu: The man who wants to end the Erdogan era and transform Turkey

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Kemal Kilicdaroglu: The man who wants to end the Erdogan era and transform Turkey



This is Istanbul's newest mosque and today opened by Recep Tayyip Erdogan. For two decades, the president has reshaped Turkey, giving himself vast power, disrupting global diplomacy, picking battles with the West. He's now geeing up his supporters for the weekend's presidential election. Three hours away in the city of Bursa, support amid the bustle. This stall holder tells me he loves the president from the heart that he'd vote for him a million times if he could. This customer says Erdogan is a real man, a leader who even stands up to America. But in truth, Erdogan's grip on power is under strain.

His political opponents have united behind a single candidate, welcomed by ever bigger crowds. It's this man, Kamal Kilishtarov, talking to us in his final broadcast interview before the election, telling me his country's been damaged by Erdogan. For you, do you want to be the president of Turkey or really do you want Erdogan to stop being the president? Turkey has a serious history in its columns. We want to fix this, and we want to be the president and also to make Turkey a democratic country. He tells me he will reconcile his country, support Sweden joining NATO and repair Turkey's fractured international relations. We want to be a part of the country's world of justice. We want democracy in our country.

We don't want an authoritarian government. We want freedom. Young people and women are stuck in the big village. They want freedom, too. Therefore, we will bring all the democratic rules that the European Union has foreseen to our country. He's already playing. I've never seen anyone as lying as he is.

He's making all kinds of decisions by striking the facts. But whatever he does, the people's choice will be with him. Outside the crowd is gathering to hear him. In just a few minutes' time, Kamal Kilistoroulou, the man who has united Turkey's opposition parties, will come up to this stage to deliver one of his final speeches before Sunday's election. And that is the scene that will greet him. Thousands of thousands of his supporters, increasingly confident that he will be the next president. Kilistoroulou tells them to work for a brighter future.

His logo is a heart symbol. Many here see him as the opportunity for a new start. I am 44 years old. Twenty years may be the best years of my life have been spent under oppression and intimidation and in an atmosphere of crisis. Alongside her teenagers who've never known life without Erdogan. Kilistoroulou comes from the people. We know his house and his kitchen.

He's not someone who's going to live in the palace. Kilistoroulou is the face of change craved by many. But others across this country are happy or reconciled with what they've got. This will be a close election in a desperately divided nation. Adam Parsons, Sky News, Bursa.



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