Who will win the elections? Turkish astrologers find answers in the stars.

In the weeks leading up to Turkey’s tightest election in two decades, some of the 64 million eligible voters didn’t look to polls for predictions about the outcome.

They turned to astrologers.

A few weeks ago, Dincer Guner, a renowned astrologer, carefully examined the birth chart of the Turkish Republic (founded on October 29, 1923) and that of the presidential candidates. The result, he announced in a youtube videowas clear: Kemal Kilicdaroglu, the leading opposition candidate, would win the presidential election, ending President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s 20 years in power.

Mr. Kilicdaroglu’s supporters rejoiced. But Mr. Guner is just one of a universe of famous astrologers making predictions in Turkey. They enjoy a large following on social media and offer hope for clarity amid the uncertainty of nail-biting election polls, a crippling cost-of-living crisis and the aftermath of the devastating February earthquakes that killed more than 50,000 people in Turkey and claimed the lives of millions. turned their heads. .

Another prominent astrologer, Meral Guven, known for accurately predicting the national football championship, predicted an election victory for Erdogan, saying he would rule Turkey “until the day he dies and even after.”

The election predictions are part of a spiritism common in Turkish society, where people read the future in coffee grounds, consult fortune tellers before making major life decisions, or visit the supposed tombs of ancient mystics to make wishes.

Even top politicians seek heavenly guidance: Mr. Kilicdaroglu wears a martenitsa, or “wish ribbon,” on his right wrist, to untie when his wish comes true. When a supporter asked him last month what the wish was, he said replied“This is a secret everyone knows.”

According to Feyza Akinerdem, a sociology lecturer at Istanbul’s Bogazici University, astrology serves as a balm in a country where a powerful government has eroded many people’s sense of control.

“Individuals are being disempowered by the grip of the state in Turkey,” Ms Akinerdem said. “Reliance on astrology is a way of enduring the lack of power over one’s own life, especially in tumultuous times.”

Mr. Guner, whose Twitter account has more than 700,000 followers, points to 2018, when the Turkish currency began to lose value, as the start of a new wave of interest in astrology as people sought financial advice. “People are increasingly asking me where to invest their savings, whether the exchange rate will rise further,” Mr Guner said in an interview.

“I refrain from giving precise answers because financial astrology is not my area of ​​expertise,” he added.

Mr Guner should choose his words carefully, especially when it comes to politics, as insulting the president is a criminal offense in Turkey and the free media are largely muzzled. While predicting defeat for Mr Erdogan, Mr Guner has warned the political opposition against repeating the mistakes of the short-lived Turkish coalition governments of the 1990s, an era marked by political bickering and economic troubles, as his lectures suggest a similar pattern. for the country in the next two years.

While the political season has kept him busy, the astrologer said he’s looking forward to other pressing questions once the election is over.

“I miss people asking me about their love life,” he said.