The election campaign in Turkey is entering the home stretch.
Incumbent Erdogan and challenger Kilicdaroglu are campaigning for votes at the same time.
Ankara - Two more weeks until the Turkish elections will take place on May 14, 2023.
The parties have long been in the hot phase of the election campaign.
The spotlight is on the top candidates: President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of the ruling AKP and Kemal Kilicdaroglu, opposition candidate and chairman of the CHP.
Erdogan incited his own followers in Ankara.
“Are we ready for a crushing victory?” he asked in a plaza in the capital.
The President predicted a crushing defeat for the opposition.
"On May 14, God willing, our country will remove them from the political stage," Erdogan said.
Erdogan back in the election campaign
It was the Turkish head of state's second public appearance after an illness that forced him to cancel several campaign dates last week.
On Tuesday, Erdogan had to cancel a live interview on television, fueling speculation about his health.
According to the government, Erdogan suffered from a gastrointestinal virus.
For several days he did not appear in public, but only appeared in two video channels - one with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Türkiye election 2023: Is the end of the Erdogan era near?
Türkiye election 2023: Is the end of the Erdogan era near?
Erdogan made his first public appearance on Saturday.
In Istanbul, the Turkish President visited an aviation fair.
"As you know, I've been ill recently and people have been praying for me in every house," the 69-year-old told the crowd in Ankara on Sunday.
"I try to be worthy of those prayers."
Turkey elections: Erdogan is further behind
In current polls on Turkey's elections, Erdogan's party alliance "People's Alliance" is further behind the opposition alliance.
In a direct comparison, Kilicdaroglu also fares significantly better than the incumbent president.
The opposition leader, in turn, held a mass rally in Izmir, western Turkey, on Sunday, where Erdogan appeared before slightly fewer people on Saturday.
"These elections are elections to rebuild our democracy," Kilicdaroglu called out to the crowd.
"We will bring peace to this country, I will bring brotherhood to this country."
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President Recep Tayyip Erdogan with his wife Emine at a campaign event in Turkey.
© Ali Unal/dpa
Kilicdaroglu leads an electoral alliance of six parties.
On Friday, the pro-Kurdish HDP, which does not belong to the alliance, called for Kilicdaroglu to be elected.
So far, the party has only tacitly backed Erdogan's challenger by not nominating its own candidate for the presidential election.
But the hot phase of the election campaign is not only raging in Turkey.
In Germany, too, the government and opposition are campaigning for the votes of Turks living abroad.
A poster campaign for Erdogan caused outrage in Nuremberg.
(dil/dpa)
List of rubrics: © Ali Unal/dpa