Turkish opposition woos housewives to 'get rid of Erdogan'

In the bazaar of Besiktas in Istanbul, between the pyramids of strawberries and olives, vendors with loud voices and Istanbulites in search of good prices, an activist shouts: "Let's get rid of Erdogan!"</p>"Defend your rights at the polls in the second round on May 28!", insists Rojda Aksoy, a slender figure and faded black baggy, flanked by a handful of other feminist activists who tow with all their might

Turkish opposition woos housewives to 'get rid of Erdogan'

In the bazaar of Besiktas in Istanbul, between the pyramids of strawberries and olives, vendors with loud voices and Istanbulites in search of good prices, an activist shouts: "Let's get rid of Erdogan!"

"Defend your rights at the polls in the second round on May 28!", insists Rojda Aksoy, a slender figure and faded black baggy, flanked by a handful of other feminist activists who tow with all their might.

"The Reis will win!", retorts a faithful of outgoing President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who came out on top in the first round of the presidential election on Sunday May 14.

The exchange is rough. He will be more cordial with women with headscarves tied under their necks, even applauded.

As the second round approaches, the Turkish opposition is courting the female electorate more than ever, especially housewives, traditionally won over to the head of state.

Over the polls, housewives voted for the one under whose reign restrictions on the wearing of the veil in the public service and at university were lifted, up to 60% during the 2018 presidential election, according to a survey.

With their wallets swollen with depreciated banknotes, they all know the skyrocketing price of onions and the weight of inflation.

"We have to meet them, remind them that, even if (Mr. Erdogan and his Islamo-conservative AKP party) have been leading this country for more than twenty years, even if they have all the propaganda tools including the media, they did not win", explains to AFP Rojda Aksoy between the stalls of second-hand clothes and the hearts of artichokes floating in blue basins.

Opposition candidate and leader of the social-democratic and secular CHP, Kemal Kiliçdaroglu, with his campaign videos showing him sitting in his kitchen won only 44.9% of voters in the first round and Çigdem Ener, 50 years and high bun, is not one of them. Her heart went out to the third man, the ultra-nationalist Sinan Ogan.

"Turkey is secular, it granted the right to vote and eligibility to women" from the 1930s, she recalls. "And look at the lamentable level to which Erdogan has dragged us by bringing his friends from Hüda-Par into parliament", a radical Islamist formation, she gets carried away while railing against the price of cheese.

Out of spite, she will vote for Kiliçdaroglu on Sunday.

Tijyen Alpanli, red hair and glasses, will do the same but out of conviction. "Women are murdered, almost none of the murderers are punished," says the sixty-year-old, who also fears the presence of Islamists within Erdogan's coalition.

In contrast, Raziye Kuskaya, 50, and her daughter will support "Tayyip to the last drop of (their) blood". "We may not be able to buy everything we want, but that's okay," said the Sharia supporter.

From Van (east) to Eskisehir (center), activists from Kiliçdaroglu are trying to convince voters, who are deeply polarized.

“We are aware that there are masses that we cannot reach, especially housewives,” Istanbul CHP Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu admitted last week.

Conversely, the AKP for two decades has sent women knocking on the doors of homes.

The ambitious Recep Tayyip Erdogan, before becoming mayor of Istanbul in 1994, made it his secret weapon and a showcase for the political Islam he advocates, despite the reluctance of his party at the time (the Refah).

Emine Erdogan, his wife, was one of the leaders of this local activism.

The idea of ​​the future Prime Minister and Head of State is that "women will be able to return to women's homes, discuss and convince because there is a community of gender, values, class between the grassroots activist of the AKP and housewives", explains Prunelle Aymé, doctor in political science associated with CERI-Sciences Po Paris.

The quota of members of the AKP today exceeds five million.

Their courtesy visits during births, marriages or deaths are part of a relational and emotional work that allows, in addition to building loyalty, to survey the neighborhoods and collect data, continues Ms. Aymé.

The working-class housewives are also the main beneficiaries of the craft classes, family and municipal social centers which make the popularity of the AKP at the local level, she underlines.

But the AKP lost around twenty seats in the legislative elections of May 14. "Hope is therefore allowed", wants to believe Rojda Aksoy.

24/05/2023 07:38:17 --         Istanbul (AFP)            © 2023 AFP