A former bureaucrat is giving Erdogan a run for his money

KEMAL Kilicdaroglu rarely talks about his personal life, and even less about his religion. But last month the man hoping to replace Recep Tayyip Erdogan as Turkey’s president recorded a video in which he acknowledged he belonged to the Alevi sect, a minority that continues to face prejudice. The move was widely perceived as an attempt to pre-empt attacks by Mr Erdogan against his opponent’s faith. “We have to respect different beliefs, identities and lifestyles,” Mr Kilicdaroglu tells The Economist at his office in Ankara, when asked why he decided to make the video. “My main task is to unite.”