Recep Tayyip Erdogan, incumbent Turkish President, and running candidate in the current presidential elections, called on Turkish youth to be careful of "the smear campaigns and lies which try to paint a bleak picture of him", assuring them that he did not interfere in their lifestyles nor will he allow anyone to do so. 

One week before the runoff elections, after obtaining the highest percentage of votes during the first round of elections, Erdogan sent a formal message to the Turkish youth through his Twitter account. 

Sevgili genç kardeşlerim,

Hazreti Mevlana “Testinin içinde ne varsa, dışına da o sızar” diyor.

Dipsiz karanlıklarda debelenenler umut veremez. Vizyonu, hayali, ideali, hedefi olmayanlar ufuk çizemez.…

— Recep Tayyip Erdoğan (@RTErdogan) May 20, 2023

"Those who struggle in complete darkness cannot give hope, and those who do not have a vision, dream, example, or goal cannot draw the horizon," Erdogan said in his tweet. 

The Turkish president called on the youth not to "pay attention to the lies" that come from what he called "those who want to share with you their political failures and the bleak picture they are trying to paint."

In his message, the Turkish President recalled what he described as the many investments and projects which were initiated during his presidency. He announced that he worked "seriously" throughout his years as president so that "the youth may express themselves freely and live life to the fullest."

"We did all this for you, and we succeeded with your support, effort, and sweat, and I hope that we will start building the Turkish century with you after May 28," Erdogan concluded. 

Read more: Kilicdaroglu; a threat to Turkish ties with Russia and Iran: EurAsia

Earlier this week, Erdogan assured that he would maintain the same foreign policy towards Russia and other countries if he wins the presidential race in the second round. 

After no candidate won an absolute majority (50% +1) of the votes in the Turkish elections, the head of the nation’s election authority announced on Monday that a runoff will take place on May 28, 2023.  

Erdogan closed the first round with 49.51% of the votes, with Kilicdaroglu placing second at 44.88%, followed by Sinan Ogan at 5.17%.

Read more: Erdogan confident in winning second round with higher turnout