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ANKARA: Türkiye headed to the presidential run-off after the president Ok Erdogan He outperformed expectations in Sunday’s election as he sought to extend his two-decade rule, well ahead of his rival but failing to secure an outright majority.
no Erdogan Nor has his opponent Kemal Kilicdaroglu crossed the 50% threshold needed to avoid a second round, scheduled for May 28, in an election seen as arbiter of Erdogan’s increasingly authoritarian course.
The presidential vote will decide not only who leads Turkey, a NATO member of 85 million people, but also whether it returns to a more secular and democratic path. How you will deal with the severe cost of living crisis and manage key relationships with Russia, the Middle East and the West.
Kilicdaroglu, who said he would win the runoff, urged his supporters to be patient and accused Erdogan’s party of interfering with the counting and reporting of results.
But Erdogan did better than pre-election polls had predicted, appearing confident and combative in temperament as he addressed his supporters, waving flags and cheering.
“We are already ahead of our closest competitor by 2.6 million votes. We expect this number to rise with the official results,” Erdogan said.
According to the state-owned Anadolu news agency, with nearly 97% of the ballot boxes counted, Erdogan led with 49.39% of the vote and Kilicdaroglu got 44.92%. Turkey’s Supreme Election Board gave Erdogan 49.49% with 91.93% of the ballot boxes counted.
Erdogan has an advantage
The results reflected deep polarization in a country at a political crossroads. The vote was to give the ruling coalition led by Erdogan a majority in parliament, giving it a potential advantage ahead of the run-off.
Opinion polls before the election had indicated a tight race but gave Kilicdaroglu, who heads a six-party alliance, a slight lead. And two polls on Friday showed it above the 50% threshold.
“Erdogan will have an advantage in a second vote, after his coalition fared much better than the opposition,” said Hakan Akbas, managing director of Political Strategy Consulting Services.
The third nationalist presidential candidate, Sinan Ogan, received 5.3% of the vote. Analysts said he could be the “kingmaker” in the run-off depending on which candidate he supports.
The opposition said Erdogan’s party was delaying full results by filing objections, while the authorities were publishing the results with an order that artificially boosted Erdogan’s tally.
In an earlier appearance, Kilicdaroglu said Erdogan’s party was “destroying Turkey’s will” by objecting to the counting of more than 1,000 ballot boxes. “You cannot prevent what will happen with objections. We will not let this become a fait accompli,” he said.
Meanwhile, supporters of both sides celebrated.
Thousands of Erdogan voters swarmed the party headquarters in Ankara, blasting party songs from loudspeakers and waving flags and posters of Erdogan. Some danced in the street.
A major Putin ally
“We know it’s not exactly a celebration yet, but we hope to celebrate his victory soon. Erdogan is the best leader we have for this country and we love him,” said Yalcin Yildirim, 39, who owns a textile factory.
“We accept that the economy is not in a good shape now, but Erdogan will make it better,” said Fayad Balku, 23, a cyber security engineer.
At the headquarters of Kilicdaroglu’s Republican People’s Party party, his supporters waved flags of Turkey’s founder Mustafa Kemal Ataturk and beat drums.
The selection of Turkey’s next president is one of the most important political decisions in the country’s 100-year history and will reverberate far beyond Turkey’s borders.
A victory for Erdogan, one of President Vladimir Putin’s most important allies, is likely to embolden the Kremlin but unnerve the Biden administration, as well as several European and Middle Eastern leaders who have had troubled relations with Erdogan.
Turkey’s longest-serving leader has turned the NATO member and Europe’s second-largest country into a global player, modernizing it with megaprojects like new bridges and airports, and building an arms industry sought by foreign nations.
But his capricious economic policy of low interest rates, which led to a spiraling cost of living crisis and inflation, left him prey to voter wrath. His government’s slow response to a devastating earthquake in southeastern Turkey that killed 50,000 people earlier this year added to voter discontent.
Parliamentary majority
Kilicdaroglu vowed to revive democracy after years of state repression, return to traditional economic policies, empower institutions that lost autonomy under Erdogan, and rebuild weak relations with the West.
Thousands of political prisoners and activists could be released if the opposition wins.
Critics fear Erdogan could rule more authoritarian than ever if he wins another term. The 69-year-old president, who has scored dozens of electoral victories, says he respects democracy.
In the parliamentary vote, the People’s Alliance of Erdogan’s Islamist-rooted Justice and Development Party, the nationalist MHP and others performed better than expected and were close to achieving a majority.
With 93% of the votes counted, she was on track to secure 324 seats in the 600-seat parliament. Kilicdaroglu’s Nation Alliance, made up of six opposition parties, including the secular Republican People’s Party founded by Atatürk, appeared to have 211 seats.
The Labor and Freedom Alliance, led by the pro-Kurdish Green Left Party, appeared to have a lead of 65 seats.
no Erdogan Nor has his opponent Kemal Kilicdaroglu crossed the 50% threshold needed to avoid a second round, scheduled for May 28, in an election seen as arbiter of Erdogan’s increasingly authoritarian course.
The presidential vote will decide not only who leads Turkey, a NATO member of 85 million people, but also whether it returns to a more secular and democratic path. How you will deal with the severe cost of living crisis and manage key relationships with Russia, the Middle East and the West.
Kilicdaroglu, who said he would win the runoff, urged his supporters to be patient and accused Erdogan’s party of interfering with the counting and reporting of results.
But Erdogan did better than pre-election polls had predicted, appearing confident and combative in temperament as he addressed his supporters, waving flags and cheering.
“We are already ahead of our closest competitor by 2.6 million votes. We expect this number to rise with the official results,” Erdogan said.
According to the state-owned Anadolu news agency, with nearly 97% of the ballot boxes counted, Erdogan led with 49.39% of the vote and Kilicdaroglu got 44.92%. Turkey’s Supreme Election Board gave Erdogan 49.49% with 91.93% of the ballot boxes counted.
Erdogan has an advantage
The results reflected deep polarization in a country at a political crossroads. The vote was to give the ruling coalition led by Erdogan a majority in parliament, giving it a potential advantage ahead of the run-off.
Opinion polls before the election had indicated a tight race but gave Kilicdaroglu, who heads a six-party alliance, a slight lead. And two polls on Friday showed it above the 50% threshold.
“Erdogan will have an advantage in a second vote, after his coalition fared much better than the opposition,” said Hakan Akbas, managing director of Political Strategy Consulting Services.
The third nationalist presidential candidate, Sinan Ogan, received 5.3% of the vote. Analysts said he could be the “kingmaker” in the run-off depending on which candidate he supports.
The opposition said Erdogan’s party was delaying full results by filing objections, while the authorities were publishing the results with an order that artificially boosted Erdogan’s tally.
In an earlier appearance, Kilicdaroglu said Erdogan’s party was “destroying Turkey’s will” by objecting to the counting of more than 1,000 ballot boxes. “You cannot prevent what will happen with objections. We will not let this become a fait accompli,” he said.
Meanwhile, supporters of both sides celebrated.
Thousands of Erdogan voters swarmed the party headquarters in Ankara, blasting party songs from loudspeakers and waving flags and posters of Erdogan. Some danced in the street.
A major Putin ally
“We know it’s not exactly a celebration yet, but we hope to celebrate his victory soon. Erdogan is the best leader we have for this country and we love him,” said Yalcin Yildirim, 39, who owns a textile factory.
“We accept that the economy is not in a good shape now, but Erdogan will make it better,” said Fayad Balku, 23, a cyber security engineer.
At the headquarters of Kilicdaroglu’s Republican People’s Party party, his supporters waved flags of Turkey’s founder Mustafa Kemal Ataturk and beat drums.
The selection of Turkey’s next president is one of the most important political decisions in the country’s 100-year history and will reverberate far beyond Turkey’s borders.
A victory for Erdogan, one of President Vladimir Putin’s most important allies, is likely to embolden the Kremlin but unnerve the Biden administration, as well as several European and Middle Eastern leaders who have had troubled relations with Erdogan.
Turkey’s longest-serving leader has turned the NATO member and Europe’s second-largest country into a global player, modernizing it with megaprojects like new bridges and airports, and building an arms industry sought by foreign nations.
But his capricious economic policy of low interest rates, which led to a spiraling cost of living crisis and inflation, left him prey to voter wrath. His government’s slow response to a devastating earthquake in southeastern Turkey that killed 50,000 people earlier this year added to voter discontent.
Parliamentary majority
Kilicdaroglu vowed to revive democracy after years of state repression, return to traditional economic policies, empower institutions that lost autonomy under Erdogan, and rebuild weak relations with the West.
Thousands of political prisoners and activists could be released if the opposition wins.
Critics fear Erdogan could rule more authoritarian than ever if he wins another term. The 69-year-old president, who has scored dozens of electoral victories, says he respects democracy.
In the parliamentary vote, the People’s Alliance of Erdogan’s Islamist-rooted Justice and Development Party, the nationalist MHP and others performed better than expected and were close to achieving a majority.
With 93% of the votes counted, she was on track to secure 324 seats in the 600-seat parliament. Kilicdaroglu’s Nation Alliance, made up of six opposition parties, including the secular Republican People’s Party founded by Atatürk, appeared to have 211 seats.
The Labor and Freedom Alliance, led by the pro-Kurdish Green Left Party, appeared to have a lead of 65 seats.
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