Facing hardest election yet, Turkey’s Erdogan woos voters with ‘good news’

© Erdem Sahin/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock A woman stands in front of a picture of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Istanbul. “The economy is eating into his base,” said Berk Esen, a professor of political science at Istanbul’s Sabanci University. The balloting is viewed here as a game of inches, with voters, including disgruntled members of the president’s own base, up for grabs. Erdogan has offered low-interest mortgages, canceled interest on student loans and touted a $10 billion support package for tradespeople. “The opposition had the chance to strike a major blow to Erdogan, but they failed to really deliver,” he added.