before the elections, the electoral base of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan defends his action

Bahçecik Square in Trabzon is a bit like the Holy Trinity of Emin, a fervent defender of President Erdogan. The mosque, the office of the district chief run by the AKP and the tea room, “everything is in one place, he summarizes. This proximity allows us to meet after prayer, over tea, we discuss politics. These places are reserved for men by tradition. And by reflex, they never criticize Recep Tayyip Erdogan in their exchanges. Part of his conservative electoral base is here, on the shores of the Black Sea, in the family stronghold and allowed him to win the last election, in 2018. She will play a role in the presidential and legislative elections on Sunday May 14 in Turkey.

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Emin does not see why his president would be responsible for inflation that exceeds 100%. “There is a global crisis, but we are doing better than the rest of the world. We have even overcome this crisis. I do not see a crisis in Turkey. There is everything, we can buy everything. Yes , there is inflation, but at the same time the government is increasing our salaries, so we don’t feel the effects.”

Additional mosques and roads

Emin’s wife, Aisha, does not work. She regrets it but puts up with it. She says she is not interested in women’s rights. What she retains from the action of Recep Tayyip Erdogan essentially revolves around religion. “He built many mosques, they are everywhere, explains Aisha. Sometimes it angers people. They say he only builds mosques and nothing else. They say he is not putting enough public services in place. I don’t understand this attitude. We still need more, it’s a good thing to have mosques.”

The reform of the health system and brand new roads are arguments that run on a loop among supporters of Recep Tayyip Tayyip Erdogan, as they call him by his middle name. Fatma also dwells on irrational fears in the event of Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s defeat. “If Kilicdaroglu wins, we won’t move forward. He will close hospitals, we will run out of food, prosperity will be over. Maybe we will also have war with terrorists on the loose.”

“The country will collapse”

There is excitement, some activists admit that they will vote for Erdogan in the presidential election but not in the legislative elections. “The country will collapse, fears Sezaie Özturk, the AKP leader of a district of Trabzon. We are afraid of losing all the services that Erdogan has put in place here because it is his region of birth.” As if Recep Tayyip Erdogan had become stronger than his party. With this drawback: the feeling of oblivion felt, even in his own stronghold, by the supporters of the outgoing president.