ayyip Erdogan’s challenger in Turkey’s presidential race has sharpened his tone on migrants on Thursday, vowing to send all migrants back to their countries once elected in a May 28 runoff vote.
Kemal Kilicdaroglu, the candidate of a six-party opposition alliance, won 45% support in Sunday’s vote while Erdogan got 49.5%, falling just short of the majority needed to avoid a runoff vote.
Kilicdaroglu’s latest comments came amid expectations that a third candidate in the presidential race would announce his decision for the runoff.
Turkey hosts the world’s largest refugee population of around 4 million, according to official figures.
“I am announcing here: I will send all refugees back home once I am elected as president, period,” he added.
In his election campaign, Kilicdaroglu had said they had plans to send Syrians in Turkey back home within two years after making a deal with Syrian President Bashar al Assad for their safety and coordinating with the U.N.
