Istanbul [Turkey], April 30: Turkish President RecepTayyip Erdogan re-appeared in public on Saturday for the first time after a three-day break due to illness. Speaking at an event featuring locally developed defence technology products in Istanbul, Erdogan revealed the Turkish candidate for the country's first manned mission to the International Space Station (ISS).
Military pilot AlperGezeravci was chosen to embark on Turkey's first manned space mission in the final quarter of 2023 and is due to stay on the ISS for 14 days, Erdogan told the crowd. A rocket engineer was selected as a substitute candidate, the president added. Erdogan often uses ambitious technology and defence projects to promote his re-election. Accompanied by Azerbaijani President IlhamAlivey and Libya's Prime Minister AbdulhamidDbeibah, Erdogan's appearance on Saturday came two weeks ahead of the critical May 14 presidential and parliamentary elections. On Friday, Erdogan's strongest challenger, opposition leader Kemal Kiliçdaroglu, had announced plans to establish a space research centre at Istanbul's Atatürk Airport if he wins the election.
The main opposition bloc has also announced plans to deploy around 500,000 people to monitor the votes amid fraud concerns. "We are mobilizing as many as half a million people at 50,000 polling stations, including 192,000 ballot boxes across Turkey," OguzKaanSalici from the bloc's leading Republican People's Party (CHP) told reporters in Istanbul. In previous elections, including the 2019 local vote, state news agency Anadolu came under fire for alleged data manipulation.
Foreign observers have recently expressed concerns about whether the upcoming vote will be fair amid media restrictions and limits on freedom of expression and assembly. On May 14, Turkey's roughly 64 million eligible voters will decide on the country's next president and the parliament.
Kiliçdaroglu is running against the incumbent Erdogan, who has been in power for two decades. Recent polls predict a tight race between the two.
Erdogan re-appeared in public on Saturday for the first time after a three-day break, resuming his furious charges against the opposition, as the atmosphere is tense two weeks ahead of the elections. After the space event, he addressed a rally in the Aegean secular stronghold of Izmir, where he accused the opposition of terrorism ties and damaging Turkish "family values." Erdogan aides, including Interior Minister SüleymanSoylu, recently accused the opposition of collaborating with foreign agents, including the US, to influence the election results. Soylu separately described a possible opposition victory as a "coup."Kiliçdaroglu urged calm and called the government to act with "common sense." "We are heading to polls, not war," Kiliçdaroglu tweeted.
Source: Qatar Tribune