ANKARA – Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s presidential rival in Turkiye intensified his stance on migrants on Thursday, pledging to deport all migrants if elected in a runoff vote on May 28.
In Sunday’s poll, Kemal Kilicdaroglu, the candidate of a six-party opposition alliance, received 45 percent of the vote, while Erdogan received 49.5 percent, falling just shy of the majority required to avoid a runoff vote.
Kilicdaroglu’s fresh remarks came as a third presidential candidate was expected to declare his selection for the runoff.
Sinan Ogan, a nationalist politician backed by an anti-refugee party, received 5.2 percent of the vote, making him a kingmaker in the runoff.
Kilicdaroglu maintained his uncompromising tone against Erdogan’s migration policy when speaking to his party members at his Republican People’s Party (CHP) headquarters.
“Erdogan, you purposefully permitted 10 million refugees to enter Turkey. “You even sell Turkish citizenship to get imported votes,” Kilicdaroglu remarked, without elaborating.
According to government data, Turkiye has the world’s highest refugee population of roughly 4 million people.
“I am announcing here: If I am elected president, I will send all refugees home, period,” he continued.
Kilicdaroglu stated during his election campaign that they planned to return Syrians in Turkiye home within two years after reaching an agreement with Syrian President Bashar al Assad to ensure their safety and collaborating with the UN.
