it s six in the morning in singapore, and one in the morning in turkey where voting has closed in one of the most critical elections. the country is deciding whether president erdohan remains in power after 20 years. it is expected to be a close race between him and an opposition leader kemal k l cdaroglu. he is a former civil servant who heads an alliance of six opposition parties, both secular and islamist. he promised to scrap many of the powers acquired by mr erdogan and return turkey to a parliamentary system. and also called for better relations with the west including renewal of turkey s bid for membership of the eu. the current leader recep tayyip erdogan first came to power as prime minister in 2003 and became president in 2014. under him turkey enjoyed strong economic growth, but it s been hit by high inflation, and the recent earthquakes in which tens of thousands died. he s also become increasingly authoritarian with more powers in the hands of the president,
it s seven in the morning in singapore, and two in the morning in turkey where voting has closed in one of the most critical elections. the country is deciding whether president erdohan remains in power after 20 years. it is expected to be a close race between him and an opposition leader kemal k l cdaroglu. he is a former civil servant who heads an alliance of six opposition parties, both secular and islamist. he promised to scrap many of the powers acquired by mr erdogan and return turkey to a parliamentary system. and also called for better relations with the west including renewal of turkey s bid for membership of the eu. the current leader recep tayyip erdogan first came to power as prime minister in 2003 and became president in 2014. under him turkey enjoyed strong economic growth, but it s been hit by high inflation, and the recent earthquakes in which tens of thousands died. he s also become increasingly authoritarian with more powers in the hands of the president
turkish writer ece temelkuran. a presidential election is looming. does the opposition have what it takes to end the erdogan era? ece temelkuran, welcome to hardtalk. thank you, stephen. your country is grappling with a humanitarian crisis of unimaginable scale. the death toll has now well passed 40,000, millions are displaced, and the government is saying that this is a time for national unity and solidarity. for you as a very prominent critic of president erdogan, can you at least share that sentiment? well, there is a national unity. unfortunately, the government is out of this unity. they have to connect with people right now, because most of the people, well, i can say millions of people, are feeling like they are trying to help the victims of the earthquake despite the government. despite the regime s strong hand, who is trying to do everything on their own. how can you say that, when we all see the turkish emergency services on the scene across the south of the country
the chinese owned video sharing app, on both business and personal devices used for work. now on bbc news, it s hardtalk. welcome to hardtalk. i m stephen sackur. the earthquakes that rocked southern turkey in early february not only caused a humanitarian disaster, they exposed cracks in president erdogan s carefully crafted image as turkey s indispensable leader. amid the ruined cities, and the anguish of millions of displaced people, basic government competence is being tested. my guest is long standing erdogan critic, the exiled turkish writer ece temelkuran. a presidential election is looming. does the opposition have what it takes to end the erdogan era? ece temelkuran, welcome to hardtalk. thank you, stephen. your country is grappling with a humanitarian crisis of unimaginable scale. the death toll has now well passed 40,000, millions are displaced, and the government is saying that this is a time for national unity and solidarity. for you, as a very prominent critic of
my guest is long standing erdogan critic, the exiled turkish writer ece temelkuran. a presidential election is looming. does the opposition have what it takes to end the erdogan era? ece temelkuran, welcome to hardtalk. thank you, stephen. your country is grappling with a humanitarian crisis of unimaginable scale. the death toll has now passed well past 40,000, millions are displaced, and the government is saying that this is a time for national unity and solidarity. for you as a very prominent critic of president erdogan, can you at least share that sentiment? well, there is a national unity. unfortunately, the government is out of this unity. they have to connect with people right now, because most of the people, well, i can say millions of people, are feeling like they are trying to help the victims of the earthquake despite the government. despite the regime s strong hand, who is trying to do everything on their own? how can you say that, when we all see the turkish emerg