Turkey to have momentous runoff election after Erdogan fails to win outright
Turkey will go to a runoff election after long-time leader President Recep Tayyip Erdogan was forced into a second round of voting with only a narrow lead over his main rival, Kemal Kilicdaroglu.
Neither candidate achieved the required 50 per cent to take the presidency outright after all ballot boxes were opened, according to Turkey’s Supreme Election Council.
Kilicdaroglu now faces a tough battle to win the second round on May 28 after Erdogan performed better than some opinion polls had suggested.
Official final results will be announced on Friday, according to election council chairman Ahmet Yener, before the electorate turns to a second round of voting that could extend Erdogan’s 20-year grip on power, or set the stage for a change in political direction.
Each candidate looked to re-energise voters once results began to surface in the early hours of Monday, in remarks that framed their contrastingly conservative and secular approaches to power.
“We are already ahead of our closest rival by 2.6 million votes,” Erdogan said.
“We expect this figure to increase with official results.”
The leader of the ruling Justice and Development (AK) Party received a litany of criticism in the months preceding the election, fielding accusations of negligence following the deadly February 6 earthquake, and overseeing an unorthodox fiscal policy that has plunged the nation into a cost of living crisis.
His decision to maintain close relations with Russia amid the Kremlin’s war in Ukraine has also caused friction with NATO allies, after he blocked requests for Finland and Sweden’s accession to the transatlantic military alliance.
He campaigned on a manifesto championing the stability of his long rule, independent foreign policy and lowering the retirement age.
Kilicdaroglu, who represents an election coalition of six opposition parties, has promised an overhaul of Erdogan’s Islamist-leaning policies in favour of a political slogan based on secularism and fixing Turkey’s economic woes.
“I swear I will fight until the end. I. Am. Here,” he said in a video message, which he released on Twitter following the announcement that a runoff vote will be held on May 28.
Earlier he welcomed the prospect of a runoff vote and said his party would triumph.
Deciding factor
Supporters for both candidates claimed momentum was on the side of their candidate, but the final results of the runoff could be determined by a key third component.
Ogan, the 55-year-old far-right candidate, has enough support from the first round to swing the vote in either Erdogan or Kilicdaroglu’s favour, depending on whom he chooses to endorse.
“There will be another difficult 15 days ahead,” Ogan said on Sunday at a press briefing in Ankara.
“We will do our best to make this process a good one for our nation and our country. At this time, we are not saying that we will support one party or the other.”
He told Reuters on Monday that if he signs an alliance with either wing, there will be no concessions on “sending refugees” to their homeland, as the country’s intake of asylum seekers from neighbouring Syria has become central to the political debate in Turkey.
“We have certain red lines (to support any candidate), such as fighting against terrorism and sending refugees back,” Ogan said in comments made before the runoff was announced.
“We have voiced these conditions before.
“If we decide to be with an alliance, a protocol will be signed with them and we put in words that no concessions will be made regarding the (pro-Kurdish) Peoples’ Democratic Party.”
Ogan claimed the opposition has not gained the threshold votes due to lack of confidence from voters.
“I think (the elections head to runoff) because the opposition is not giving enough confidence to the voters,” he said.
“The opposition cannot reassure people that they can solve Turkey’s problems.
I’d say the opposition is the one that was most affected by the (February 6) earthquakes.”
