Prominent voices urge voters to shape Turkey's future

Prominent intellectuals, artists, and writers in Turkey have united in a powerful call to action ahead of the second round of the presidential elections, scheduled for May 28, after the opposition’s joint presidential candidate Kemal Kilicdaroglu in the first round trailed four points behind the incumbent President Tayyip Erdogan, who gained 49,5% of the votes.

With an urgent plea to voters, this influential group aims to “put an end to the prevailing darkness” by urging citizens to cast their votes and shape the future of the nation.

"We are going to the ballot box with determination, without losing a single vote, and we will not allow for the one-man rule " the statement declares.

It further asserts that despite the authoritarian use of public resources, state facilities, and deceptive propaganda in the first round, they managed to thwart the rise of the single leader and will do so again.

The campaign, which includes prominent figures such as Kurdish politician Ahmet Turk, former European Court of Human Rights judge Riza Turmen, President of the Turkish Medical Association Center Council Sebnem Korur Fincanci, and General President of DISK (Confederation of Progressive Trade Unions) Arzu Cerkezoglu, is also be promoted through social media.

The statement also highlights the urgency of the situation, emphasizing that there is not a single vote to lose and that the country must be brought into the light.

The full text of the call to action reads as follows:

“On May 28, we will not only choose between two different presidential candidates, but we will also decide on the kind of country we want to live in and the future we envision. For years, we have been living in a country under the arbitrary rule of a single leader, where conflict, hatred, poverty, injustice, oppression, and plunder prevail, and where people go to bed hungry. Our economy has collapsed, our institutions have been destroyed, and our future has been darkened.

Now we have the desire, right, and hope to live in a society of equality, freedom, peace, prosperity, and justice. We are heading to the ballot box with determination, without losing a single vote, and we will not allow for the rule of one man.”

We will not let our joy, our lives, our trees, our rivers, our future, or our votes be stolen. Despite the oppressive use of public resources, state facilities, and deceptive propaganda, we managed to stop the rise of the single leader in the first round, and this time we will send him away. We will win as we did before, by joining hands.”