Turky : Challenges That Await The Elected President

On May 14, 2023 millions of Turks of voting age are expected to the poll to elect a new President. The four candidates cleared to run for the 2023 Presidential election are already crisscrossing the country to woo voters. But whoever wins the election, would have to work hard to overcome some major challenges the country has been facing. One of such challenges, is the influx of refugees in the country. In most major towns in the country, videos of large groups of foreign nationals hanging out in various places are being shared with rising frequency on Twitter, with thousands of people taking to social media to express alarm and calling for refugees to be sent back to their countries. While some Turks accused the refuges of “stealing” their jobs and being responsible for rising rental prices, inflation soars and the value of the lira slumps. 
There is no doubt that Turkey is home to more than four million refugees, 3.76 million of which are Syrians. The country also hosts hundreds of thousands of Afghan refugees. Though the issue does not date today, most politicians are increasingly using it for political gain because they believe the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party), of incumbent Recep Tayyip Erdogan is not doing enough to tackle the issue. In the past, Mr Erdogan had promised to organize a voluntary return of one million Syrians and pledged to build 200,000 homes in northern Syria to facilitate their return, but the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP), of Kemal Kilicdaroglu, has instead opted to send the Syrians back if elected. Finding a long lasting solution to the refugee crisis would be a major step for any of the leaders.  But most analyst believe sending them back is not a long las...