By Athena Papakosta

Only a few days remain for the double polls in Turkey and the situation in the neighborhood is becoming more and more fierce with experts and analysts predicting that the two camps will raise their voices even more and the thermometer of tension will rise further.

Recep Tayyip Erdogan vs. Kemal Kilicdaroglu with any prediction of the ballot box’s verdict remaining precarious as Sunday’s contest amounts to the most lopsided and hard-fought election battle in the country. On the one hand, the “sultan” of Turkey for 21 years remains on the verge of possible defeat and on the other hand, the presidential candidate of the united opposition remains marginal… favorite.

Added to the field of questions for the next day in Turkey is the concern and anxiety about whether a cycle of destabilization, tension and/or violence will open in the country after the end of the ballot. Already in the last 24 hours, Erdogan chose to proceed with a show of force, reminding us that he is too tough to die.

Images from Istanbul’s Ataturk Airport showed hundreds of thousands of citizens filling an entire runway to hear him, with him – carrying in the back of his mind the phrase he repeated in 2019 that “whoever wins Istanbul, wins Turkey” ” – to address the crowd and ask them “will Istanbul manage to sweep the polls?”.

He verbally attacks his opponent for the presidency, Kemal Kilicdaroglu, calling him a “drunkard” and making it clear that his people “will not leave things in the hands of a drinker” urging him, in a sarcastic way, to consume as many barrels as he wants.

At the same time, while the Turkish president is firing verbal fire at his opponent, the candidate for the vice presidency with the united opposition, the mayor of Istanbul, Ekrem Imamoglu, is being targeted by a group which, during his pre-election speech in the ruler’s stronghold city AKR, Erzurum, throwing stones at fans and their bus.

The tension and extreme polarization in Turkey continues to hit “red” when, a few hours later, a shooting incident is recorded at the offices of the Republican Party in the southeastern city of Urfa, and the pre-election atmosphere is further electrified when Erdogan’s government partner, Devlet Bakhceli, goes so far as to threaten the opposition even with… physical extermination.

Kilicdaroglu does not hide his fear of another Turkish drama either, who last Friday called on the voters of the parties that support him to stay at home, not to go out on the streets and not to celebrate “when we win” and this is because, as he explained , “maybe there will be provocations, provocations, maybe armed men will take to the streets.”

Turkey recognizes that it is divided. But what she doesn’t know is if she’s more torn than she realizes.

The next day is approaching and the first round of elections this Sunday is poised to open the door to either a change with Kemal or Erdogan’s continued stay in power. Young people who have never known a president other than the current Turkish leader will go to the polls, economic burdens seem likely to play a key role, and corruption, exposed by February’s twin earthquakes, will not be absent from the equation.” “calculation” of the vote but the landmines for the ongoing race remain many, some visible and some not. The future will show.