KEMAL KILICDAROGLU, the main challenger to incumbent president Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Turkey’s presidential race, shifted gear and adopted a more nationalist and hard-line stance today.

Mr Kilicdaroglu vowed to send back millions of refugees if he is elected in the presidential run-off later this month and rejected any possibility of negotiating for peace with Kurdish militants.

Voters in Turkey will head back to the polls on May 28 after neither Mr Erdogan nor Mr Kilicdaroglu won more than 50 per cent of the votes in Sunday’s first round.

The election will decide whether the country remains under the increasingly authoritarian president for a third decade, or can embark on a different course.

Mr Erdogan had faced electoral headwinds because of the cost-of-living crisis and criticism over the government’s response to a devastating earthquake in February. 

But Mr Edogan’s alliance managed to retain its hold on the parliament.

Mr Kilicdaroglu, the joint candidate of a six-party opposition alliance, had led a highly positive and uniting campaign, mostly on promises to reverse crackdowns on free speech and other forms of democratic backsliding. 

This week, however, Mr Kilicdaroglu hardened his rhetoric in an apparent effort to appeal to nationalist voters.

Mr Kilicdaroglu said in an address at his party’s headquarters: “You have turned your own citizens into refugees. I declare that as soon as I come to power, I will send all refugees back home. Period.”

Mr Kilicdaroglu also hit back at President Erdogan, who had portrayed him as colluding with “terrorists” after he received the backing of the country’s pro-Kurdish party. 

“I declare to all of my citizens that I have never sat down with terrorist organisations, and I will never do. Period,” he said.

Preliminary results showed that Mr Erdogan won 49.5 per cent of the vote on Sunday, while Mr Kilicdaroglu grabbed 44.9 per cent.