Foreign countries meddling in Turkish elections: Innovation Party lead

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The leader of the Turkish Innovation Party, Ozturk Yilmaz, told Sputnik on Sunday that certain foreign entities and countries have been exerting influence in the election campaign in Turkey, but it is uncertain the extent of its impact in affecting people's choices.

"Of course, there is external meddling and I think this happens everywhere, particularly in Turkey. We see some foreign countries are trying to influence the way the election is headed, but I don’t know how effective it will be and how strong it will change and affect people's choice," Yilmaz stated. 

He further pointed out that the current electoral atmosphere was "very complicated," that both incumbent Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and leader of the opposition Kemal Kilicdaroglu have equal chances of winning the elections. 
 
"If you look at Erdogan, he is very confident. Erdogan is preparing to win again, he has monopolized everything. So he is very strong in terms of government resources, financial resources and media. On the other hand, the opposition leader [Kilicdaroglu] is also very strong in terms of financial resources given the fact that many municipalities have been financing him and he has some support from outside as well," Yilmaz noted. 

Read more: Voting in Turkey and abroad starts at 8 am local time until 5 pm

Last Friday, Turkish Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu blasted the US over its attempt to meddle in Turkey's elections, noting it was responsible for the attack on presidential candidate and leader of the Homeland Party Muharrem Ince who made a dramatic withdrawal ahead of the vote on May 14 after allegedly fake intimate pictures of him were widely circulated on the internet. 

Kilicdaroglu, on the other hand, pointed his finger at Russia, urging it refrain from allegedly influencing the electoral process in Turkey, threatening to cut ties with Moscow if the latter continued meddling in the elections.

The elections are scheduled to be held on May 14, with Erdogan and Kilicdaroglu being the two main candidates leading the race.

If none of them wins the first round which involves securing at least 50% of the votes, a second one will be held on May 28.

Read more: Opposition should be ashamed of accusing Russia: Erdogan

A survey conducted by the Areda and Asal research organizations revealed on May 13 that Erdogan is projected to win the first round of the presidential election by a narrow margin. 

According to a poll by Areda, 51.3% of respondents plan to vote for Erdogan on Sunday, while 44.2% plan to vote for the major opposition candidate, Kemal Kilicdaroglu. Sinan Ogan, the third contender, might earn about 4% of the vote.