Kılıçdaroğlu urges youth to go to ballot boxes in 2nd round of presidential race: ‘We'll absolutely win’

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Main opposition Nation Alliance’s presidential candidate and Republican People's Party (CHP) leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu has called on the youth to go to the ballot boxes to cast their votes in the second of the presidential election scheduled for May 28.

In a video shared on his Twitter account, Kılıçdaroğlu said: “And you the youth, stand on your feet, blow the cobwebs away. Those who love their homeland should come to the ballot boxes. We will struggle until the end. We will absolutely win. Absolutely!”

Once again evoking anti-refugee sentiment, Kılıçdaroğlu said: “I call on everyone from here. We have not found this homeland on the street. We will not leave our homeland to this mentality that placed 10 million irregular refugees among us. We have said that ‘border is honor.’”

According to backstage rumors, Kılıçdaroğlu is expected to resort to more anti-refugee discourse in the upcoming two weeks to attract nationalist votes. Also, his focus is said to be the youth as many of them have been determined to refrain from voting on May 14.

Meanwhile, leaders of the parties in the Nation Alliance on May 17 met at the headquarters of the CHP to determine their strategy for the second round of the presidential race. Following the meeting, the opposition bloc is expected to release a written statement. 

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's ruling Islamist-rooted Justice and Development Party (AKP) and its nationalist allies won a strong parliamentary majority, while in the presidential vote, Erdoğan garnered 49.52%, just shy of the 50% threshold needed to win outright.

Kılıçdaroğlu received 44.88% in what was seen as the biggest electoral challenge to Erdoğan's 20-year rule. A third candidate, Sinan Oğan obtained 5.17%.

Out of the 64.1 million voters, 55.8 million went to the ballot boxes, with the participation rate being 86.98%.