President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has vowed to revive his country’s earthquake-stricken cities and realize the "Century of Türkiye" with the people if he and his ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) achieve victory in the presidential and parliamentary elections on May 14.

"We have won every challenge we’ve ever had by looking in the same direction and sharing the same sensitives with our people toward the same purpose. We will build the century of Türkiye together after May 14," Erdoğan said Saturday from Gaziantep, one of the provinces worst hit by the Feb. 6 earthquakes that left over 50,000 dead in Türkiye’s southeast.

Erdoğan’s campaign has so far honed in on earthquake recovery and the "Century of Türkiye" vision, a declaration he unveiled last year to celebrate the second century of Türkiye’s being a republic. The vision entails an ambitious set of economic and social goals that would push for more growth and development.

In Gaziantep, where state-incentivized projects to revive the region’s economy after the disaster are underway, Erdoğan assured more organized industrial sites, railway lines and other housing complexes would follow for both Gaziantep and other affected provinces.

Addressing a crowd in the Kahramanmaraş province later in the day, the Turkish leader also commented on a recent debate roused by his main rival Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, the presidential candidate of a six-party opposition coalition helmed by his Republican People’s Party (CHP), who last Thursday spoke up in a video message via Twitter about being an Alevi.

The Alevi faith combines Shiite Islam, the Bektashi Sufi order and Anatolian folk culture rather being than a separate religion.

"Whatever sect the main opposition leader belongs to does not concern us. We respect it, but what’s the point of turning this a tool of exploitation?" Erdoğan remarked.

"Have you ever heard of me saying something like this?" he mused. "These politics of exploitation instigated by those who do not know what a prayer rug is only to disrupt the preelection atmosphere will not take hold in our country," Erdoğan said.

He was referring to an image of Kılıçdaroğlu from earlier this month, where he steps on an Islamic prayer rug with his shoes while posing for a picture on the sidelines of an iftar dinner.

The image incurred the wrath of conservative voters Kılıçdaroğlu hoped to charm for the May 14 elections and drew criticism for being "an insult" to Muslims. Erdoğan frequently lambasts his opponent for his "insensitivity" in the incident.

‘Election of direction’

On Saturday, AK Party Deputy Chair Numan Kurtulmuş argued that the upcoming election would be "the vote of the century" and "the most important and critical election in Türkiye’s history."

"Because people will not only determine their president and members of Parliament but also which direction Türkiye will head," Kurtulmuş said during a Ramadan Bayram, also known as Eid al-Fitr, celebration with citizens in Istanbul.

Stressing the need to turn Türkiye into a "stronger, greater nation," Kurtulmuş said the "Century of Türkiye" vision was not just a slogan but "the goal of making Türkiye into a global country by building on our achievements of the past 21 years."

Black propaganda

Similarly, AK Party Deputy Chair and spokesperson Ömer Çelik underlined the party’s vision statement and juxtaposed policies with what he described as "the black propaganda of the opposition."

"We don’t hear that the six-party coalition has any plans to serve Türkiye or work for its benefit," Çelik said in the Adana province, from where he is running as a parliamentary candidate for his party on May 14.

He bashed the six opposition parties for "failing to conjure a rhetoric beyond merely opposing AK Party and Erdoğan" and "being too busy with quarreling with one another over to whom they will partner with."

Çelik further slammed the alliance for drawing the endorsement of terrorist groups like the PKK and the Gülenist Terrorist Group (FETÖ). "Why are the terrorists so comfortable expressing support for ‘whoever is challenging Erdoğan?’ And why are these parties not saying, ‘This is a political race with Erdoğan; terrorists must stay out of it?’"

"While we’re working toward a grand vision, with the Yusufeli Dam, Türkiye’s first aircraft carrier TCG Anadolu just to name a few from the last couple of months, all the opposition busy with is either trying to obstruct or make black propaganda," Çelik said.

In addition to keeping campaigns low profile in light of the Feb. 6 disaster, the party has also targeted the opposition bloc over the apparent support they’ve been receiving from terror groups whose so-called seniors came out of the woodwork in recent weeks to endorse Kılıçdaroğlu in the presidential race.

Campaign trail

In less than 21 days, some 64 million Turks, both at home and abroad, will be heading to polls to elect Türkiye’s 13th president and all 600 members of Parliament.

In addition to Erdoğan and Kılıçdaroğlu, Homeland Party (MP) Chair Muharrem Ince and ATA Alliance’s far-right candidate Sinan Oğan are also competing for the top office. Still, the race is likely to be primarily between Erdoğan and Kılıçdaroğlu.

Two opinion polls conducted by Areda survey company in March and April showed 50.8% support for Erdoğan and 43.1% for Kılıçdaroğlu. In the case of a run-off, surveyors also overwhelmingly endorsed Erdoğan, marking some 52.6% for him and 47.4% for Kılıçdaroğlu.

This is the first election since Türkiye held its first multiparty elections (again on another May 14, some 73 years ago) in which many such alliances will compete. Although the partnerships were born out of necessity for the opposition, which has repeatedly failed against Erdoğan and the AK Party, the AK Party has also found new allies in its People’s Alliance over the years.

Unlike the Nation Alliance, whose sole aim is to end the lengthy AK Party governance, the People’s Alliance claims its unity is for the sake of unity itself for Türkiye’s interests.

Under Erdoğan, the AK Party gained a parliamentary majority in the 2002 elections by winning more than 34% of the vote, a surprising result for a party new to the political scene.

Erdoğan led the AK Party to more victories in local and general elections in the ensuing years. As a result, he is a formidable rival to presidential contenders, who are not as seasoned. Having survived a coup attempt and multiple attempts to close down his party, he now hopes to succeed again against opposition as united as ever.