<p>Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan stares down from a campaign poster at the earthquake ruins of Antakya, inspiring confidence in Ahmet Gulyildizoglu ahead of Sunday's election runoff.</p>.<p>Millions across the ravaged region defied expectation and voted for the man who has ruled Turkey for two decades and fell just short of securing another five-year term on May 14.</p>.<p>Erdogan's secular rival, Kemal Kilicdaroglu, "does not fill you with hope," Gulyildizoglu said in front of a debris-strewn expanse once occupied by his six-floor apartment building.</p>.<p>"On the other hand, you have an alliance that keeps their promises," the pensioner added, referring to Erdogan's Islamic-rooted party and its far-right allies.</p>.<p>Erdogan's ability to maintain support across Turkey's southeastern disaster zone contributed to Kilicdaroglu's disappointing showing in the first round, which he ended trailing by nearly five points.</p>.<p>The Turkish leader is now the strong favourite, capping a remarkable turnaround.</p>.<p><strong>Also Read | <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/opinion/erdo-an-and-modi-an-uncanny-resemblance-and-yet-so-different-1219457.html" target="_blank">Erdoğan and Modi — An uncanny resemblance, and yet so different</a></strong></p>.<p>Seething anger at the government's stuttering response to the February disaster, in which more than 50,000 died, put Erdogan in the unfamiliar position of issuing public apologies.</p>.<p>But Berk Esen, an associate professor at Istanbul's Sabanci University, called Erdogan's election rebound "not very surprising".</p>.<p>Esen argued that the region is filled with pious voters who trusted Erdogan's explanation that the massive toll resulted from an unavoidable act of nature -- not state negligence over lax building standards.</p>.<p>In addition, "the opposition did not campaign heavily in the area and could not offer an alternative, credible message," Esen told <em>AFP</em>.</p>.<p>Instead of giving up, Kilicdaroglu is radically changing course.</p>.<p>Ditching his embracing vows to heal Turkey's social divisions, Kilicdaroglu has struck a stridently nationalist tone, pledging to expel millions of Syrians and other migrants.</p>.<p>The message resonates in Syria-border cities such as Antakya, a mountain-rimmed cradle of civilisations once known as Antioch.</p>.<p>Kilicdaroglu has plastered Antakya with posters declaring: "The Syrians will go".</p>.<p>"We will not turn Turkey into a depot for migrants," the 74-year-old said on a visit to Antakya on Tuesday.</p>.<p>The tough talk pleased Mehmet Aynaci, 20, who blames Syrians for local housing problems.</p>.<p>"Before the earthquake, if you looked for a flat, there were a lot of Syrians," Aynaci said.</p>.<p>"Of course they must go," added Atilla Celtik, who like Aynaci is one of the few who has not left the almost completely deserted city.</p>.<p>"They will be asking for our land in the future," he said. "We are worried."</p>.<p>The historically liberal lean of Antakya's Hatay province gave Kilicdaroglu a slight edge here over Erdogan in the first round.</p>.<p>It was one of just three of the 11 quake-hit provinces to vote against the incumbent.</p>.<p>Kilicdaroglu's future success will depend in part on how many people who left the disaster zone are willing to make a second trip back for the runoff.</p>.<p>Nearly 1.7 million of the displaced failed to change their registration address by an April 2 deadline, meaning they must come back to vote.</p>.<p>Sema Sicek, whose anger at Erdogan is just as strong as the days when thousands slowly died under the debris while the government unwound its response, thinks they simply must.</p>.<p>"Walk if you have to but don't give up on your land," the 65-year-old said, accusing Erdogan of "burying us alive".</p>.<p>Some of that fury has spilled over onto social media, where survivors were targeted for backing Erdogan.</p>.<p>The Turkish leader mentions these messages often on the campaign trail, trying to blame them on Kilicdaroglu.</p>.<p>Gulyildizoglu's daughter Hatice said the attacks stung.</p>.<p>"This really offended us," she said. "Our grief is immense. You have to live it to understand."</p>.<p>Erdogan has won votes with pledges to build victims new homes by early next year -- "maybe a little later" for those in Antakya.</p>.<p>Kilicdaroglu is trying to do the same, telling Tuesday's rally that "nobody should ever doubt" his ability to rebuild the region.</p>.<p>But Hakan Tiryaki, the provincial head of Kilicdaroglu's leftist party, is sensitive to complaints that the opposition did not make its voice heard enough before the first round.</p>.<p>Campaigning any harder might have given the impression that the opposition was trying to profit from people's grief, Tiryaki told <em>AFP</em>.</p>.<p>It might also have failed to change the mind of voters such as Omer Edip Aslantas, 51, who remembers chatting with other leftists about developing Turkey in the 1970s.</p>.<p>"The Turkish left is no longer the same," he said in Kirikhan, a northern Hatay district that backed Erdogan.</p>.<p>"They have become anti-Turk, anti-Muslim."</p>
<p>Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan stares down from a campaign poster at the earthquake ruins of Antakya, inspiring confidence in Ahmet Gulyildizoglu ahead of Sunday's election runoff.</p>.<p>Millions across the ravaged region defied expectation and voted for the man who has ruled Turkey for two decades and fell just short of securing another five-year term on May 14.</p>.<p>Erdogan's secular rival, Kemal Kilicdaroglu, "does not fill you with hope," Gulyildizoglu said in front of a debris-strewn expanse once occupied by his six-floor apartment building.</p>.<p>"On the other hand, you have an alliance that keeps their promises," the pensioner added, referring to Erdogan's Islamic-rooted party and its far-right allies.</p>.<p>Erdogan's ability to maintain support across Turkey's southeastern disaster zone contributed to Kilicdaroglu's disappointing showing in the first round, which he ended trailing by nearly five points.</p>.<p>The Turkish leader is now the strong favourite, capping a remarkable turnaround.</p>.<p><strong>Also Read | <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/opinion/erdo-an-and-modi-an-uncanny-resemblance-and-yet-so-different-1219457.html" target="_blank">Erdoğan and Modi — An uncanny resemblance, and yet so different</a></strong></p>.<p>Seething anger at the government's stuttering response to the February disaster, in which more than 50,000 died, put Erdogan in the unfamiliar position of issuing public apologies.</p>.<p>But Berk Esen, an associate professor at Istanbul's Sabanci University, called Erdogan's election rebound "not very surprising".</p>.<p>Esen argued that the region is filled with pious voters who trusted Erdogan's explanation that the massive toll resulted from an unavoidable act of nature -- not state negligence over lax building standards.</p>.<p>In addition, "the opposition did not campaign heavily in the area and could not offer an alternative, credible message," Esen told <em>AFP</em>.</p>.<p>Instead of giving up, Kilicdaroglu is radically changing course.</p>.<p>Ditching his embracing vows to heal Turkey's social divisions, Kilicdaroglu has struck a stridently nationalist tone, pledging to expel millions of Syrians and other migrants.</p>.<p>The message resonates in Syria-border cities such as Antakya, a mountain-rimmed cradle of civilisations once known as Antioch.</p>.<p>Kilicdaroglu has plastered Antakya with posters declaring: "The Syrians will go".</p>.<p>"We will not turn Turkey into a depot for migrants," the 74-year-old said on a visit to Antakya on Tuesday.</p>.<p>The tough talk pleased Mehmet Aynaci, 20, who blames Syrians for local housing problems.</p>.<p>"Before the earthquake, if you looked for a flat, there were a lot of Syrians," Aynaci said.</p>.<p>"Of course they must go," added Atilla Celtik, who like Aynaci is one of the few who has not left the almost completely deserted city.</p>.<p>"They will be asking for our land in the future," he said. "We are worried."</p>.<p>The historically liberal lean of Antakya's Hatay province gave Kilicdaroglu a slight edge here over Erdogan in the first round.</p>.<p>It was one of just three of the 11 quake-hit provinces to vote against the incumbent.</p>.<p>Kilicdaroglu's future success will depend in part on how many people who left the disaster zone are willing to make a second trip back for the runoff.</p>.<p>Nearly 1.7 million of the displaced failed to change their registration address by an April 2 deadline, meaning they must come back to vote.</p>.<p>Sema Sicek, whose anger at Erdogan is just as strong as the days when thousands slowly died under the debris while the government unwound its response, thinks they simply must.</p>.<p>"Walk if you have to but don't give up on your land," the 65-year-old said, accusing Erdogan of "burying us alive".</p>.<p>Some of that fury has spilled over onto social media, where survivors were targeted for backing Erdogan.</p>.<p>The Turkish leader mentions these messages often on the campaign trail, trying to blame them on Kilicdaroglu.</p>.<p>Gulyildizoglu's daughter Hatice said the attacks stung.</p>.<p>"This really offended us," she said. "Our grief is immense. You have to live it to understand."</p>.<p>Erdogan has won votes with pledges to build victims new homes by early next year -- "maybe a little later" for those in Antakya.</p>.<p>Kilicdaroglu is trying to do the same, telling Tuesday's rally that "nobody should ever doubt" his ability to rebuild the region.</p>.<p>But Hakan Tiryaki, the provincial head of Kilicdaroglu's leftist party, is sensitive to complaints that the opposition did not make its voice heard enough before the first round.</p>.<p>Campaigning any harder might have given the impression that the opposition was trying to profit from people's grief, Tiryaki told <em>AFP</em>.</p>.<p>It might also have failed to change the mind of voters such as Omer Edip Aslantas, 51, who remembers chatting with other leftists about developing Turkey in the 1970s.</p>.<p>"The Turkish left is no longer the same," he said in Kirikhan, a northern Hatay district that backed Erdogan.</p>.<p>"They have become anti-Turk, anti-Muslim."</p>