As Turkey heads to runoff presidential race, domestic issues loom large

By SUZAN FRASER
Associated Press

ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who has parlayed his country’s NATO membership and location straddling Europe and the Middle East into international influence, is favored to win reelection in a presidential runoff Sunday, despite a host of domestic issues. Erdogan, 69, finished a first-round election on May 14 just short of a victory despite rampant inflation and the aftermath of a catastrophic earthquake that killed over 50,000 people in the country’s south. His challenger in the runoff is Kemal Kilicdaroglu, the 74-year-old leader of the main opposition party, who has promised to undo years of democratic backsliding under Erdogan, to repatriate Syrian refugees and promote rights of women. Here’s a look at the issues at stake: