{"id":13947,"date":"2023-05-02T17:24:25","date_gmt":"2023-05-02T17:24:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/daric-persian.com\/?p=13947"},"modified":"2023-05-02T17:24:27","modified_gmt":"2023-05-02T17:24:27","slug":"brawls-break-out-as-turks-vote-in-pivotal-election-overseas","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/daric-persian.com\/?p=13947","title":{"rendered":"Brawls break out as Turks vote in pivotal election overseas"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Brawls break out as Turks vote in pivotal election overseas<\/h1>\n\n\n\n
\"Supporters<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Supporters of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan cheer during his election campaign rally in Ankara, on April 30, 2023.<\/em>  –  Copyright  ADEM ALTAN\/AFP or licensors<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Several clashes between opponents and supporters of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan were reported in France on Monday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Brawls broke out at polling stations in the southern French city of Marseille yesterday, as Turks living abroad voted in pivotal elections back home. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Four police officers were reportedly injured trying to separate fans of the incumbent leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan and those who oppose him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The first fight occurred at around 2:30 p.m. local time, with four people hospitalised from the violence. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Officers later used tear gas. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Clashes continued throughout the day, despite the presence of police, and two people were arrested.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

about:blank<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Elections in Turkey will take place on 14 May, but Turkey’s large ex-pat community is being allowed to vote weeks before. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is one of the most significant votes in years, which will shape Turkey’s political destiny. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"A<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Erdogan, who has ruled the country for more than 20 years, is facing a united opposition for the first time since coming to office. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

His support has been battered in recent years as Turkey’s once-strong economy has hit the rocks, with the Turkish lira collapsing in value. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Meanwhile, some accuse the 69-year-old of taking Turkey towards authoritarianism and undermining the secular principles it was founded upon. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, Erdogan retains high levels of support, especially among religious and more conservative voters, with polls predicting a tight race between him and his opponent Kemal Kili\u00e7daroglu. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

74-year-old Kili\u00e7daroglu heads an alliance of six opposition parties, ranging from the nationalist right to the democratic left. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

He is the head of the CHP founded by the father of modern Turkey, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kili\u00e7daroglu has vowed to expel the country’s large Syrian refugee population of around 3.5 million should he win the election. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

If both camps claim to win the first round, a possible second would be organised for 28 May.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Brawls break out as Turks vote in pivotal election overseas Supporters of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan cheer during his<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":13948,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[90],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-13947","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-90"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/daric-persian.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13947","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/daric-persian.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/daric-persian.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/daric-persian.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/daric-persian.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=13947"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/daric-persian.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13947\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":13949,"href":"https:\/\/daric-persian.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13947\/revisions\/13949"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/daric-persian.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/13948"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/daric-persian.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=13947"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/daric-persian.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=13947"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/daric-persian.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=13947"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}