Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan’s Justice and Development Party (AKP). started his election campaign today with the promise to reduce inflation at a single-digit rate and boost economic growth.

Erdogan faces his biggest political challenge since the AKP came to power in 2002, with polls showing support for him waning in recent years after unorthodox economic policies caused the hryvnia, the lira, to plummet and inflation to soar.

“We will continue to grow our economy through investment, employment, production, exports and current account surplus. We will bring inflation back to single digits and we will definitely save our country from this problem.” he declared before a crowd gathered at a stadium in Ankara.

Erdogan’s aggressive rate cuts sent inflation soaring to a 24-year high of more than 85 percent in October before falling to nearly 50 percent in March. The ensuing cost of living crisis hit Turkish households and squeezed incomes and savings.

“We will further improve investment with a structure based on a free market economy integrated into the world,” states the manifesto of the ruling party, which sets as its goal a growth of 5.5% per year in the period 2024-2028 and a GDP of 1.5 trillion. dollars by the end of 2028.

However, the manifesto makes no direct reference to a return to orthodoxy, and states that the policy of low interest rates is the main driving force for entrepreneurs to invest in the real economy and create jobs.

In next month’s presidential election, Erdogan will be pitted against opposition alliance candidate Kemal Kilicdaroglu.

In the most recent public opinion survey by polling company Metropoll, 42.6% of respondents said they would vote for Kilicdaroglu and 41.1% for Erdogan in the first round of voting, with the other two presidential candidates getting 7, 2%.

Parliamentary elections will also be held on the same day.

Support for Erdogan dipped slightly after February’s devastating earthquake amid accusations of an initially slow response.

“Our priority in the coming period will be to rebuild our cities that were destroyed,” Erdogan said, adding that the government plans to build 650,000 apartments for survivors.

Regarding the Foreign PolicyErdogan said the AKP will continue to normalize relations in the region and intends to build a “axis of Turkey”. Ankara has recently taken steps to restore relations with Israel, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Syria after years of tensions.

“We can negotiate with both sides in the Russia-Ukraine war, make tangible progress like the grain corridor and prisoner exchange, and we can still talk about the possibility of peace.”Erdogan said.