Rémi Trieau (correspondent in Turkey) 15:00, May 21, 2023

Just one week before the second round of the presidential election in Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu are continuing their campaign. The speeches of the two candidates are hardening and the refugee issue is at the centre of the debates. Sinan Ogan, the candidate eliminated in the first round, is expected to give his voting instructions soon.

Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu have one week left to convince Turkish voters before the second round of the presidential election. With 49.52% of the vote, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan is 2.5 million votes ahead of Social Democrat Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, a former senior civil servant and former politician. And during this period between the two rounds, the speeches of the two candidates hardened, especially on the issue of immigration.

Sinan Ogan will give his voting instructions this week

Change of tone for Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu: the opponent hardens his discourse on the Kurds of the PKK and especially on migrants. "Erdoğan, you accepted more than 10 million migrants. If you stay in power, 10 million more refugees will settle in Turkey. These fugitives will turn into a potential crime machine. As soon as I come to power, I will send these migrants home. Full stop," Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu said at his last meeting.

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Turkey has about 4 million Syrians on its territory, accepted by Recep Tayyip Erdoğan at the beginning of the Arab revolutions. Ultranationalist Sinan Ogan, who came third in the first round with more than 5% of the vote, ran a xenophobic campaign. He has not yet given any voting instructions, but the opposition intends to convince its voters by making this second round a referendum for or against refugees.