At the end of May, the citizens of Turkey will decide who will be their next president – Erdogan or Kilicdaroglu.
Turkey will hold a runoff presidential election for the first time since incumbent Recep Tayyip Erdogan defeated his opposition rival Kemal Kilicdaroglu in Sunday’s elections but failed to win an outright majority to continue his 20-year rule.
Neither the first nor the second contender for the presidency managed to pass the 50% barrier, so on May 28 the Turks will vote again.
The elections in Turkey are relatively high-stakes, because against the backdrop of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, they decide the fate of a key NATO ally and regional mediator between Russia, the Middle East and the West.
Intermediate results
According to the count of 100% of the ballots, the current head of state Recep Tayyip Erdogan received 49.51% of the vote, Kemal Kilicdaroglu – 44.88%, Sinan Ogan won 5.17% and Muharrem Inse – 0.44%. So, at the end of May, the citizens of Turkey will decide who will be the next president – Erdogan or Kilicdaroglu.
It should be noted that at the very beginning of the counting of votes the current president won quickly. After processing half of the ballots, he got more than 50%, which was enough to win the first round. However, as votes were counted in big cities, the gap between him and Kilicdaroglu began to narrow. As it happened, traditionally, most residents of rural provinces voted for Erdogan.
As for foreign precincts, Anadolu said in relation to the election commission that Erdogan received more than 50% of the vote. He won on sites in Germany, France, Austria, Netherlands, Belgium and most European countries, as well as in Azerbaijan, Uzbekistan, Iran, Pakistan. His rival Kilicdaroglu sought the support of the Turks in Great Britain, Italy, Spain, Greece, the United States, China, Russia and Japan.
Turkish media also write about record voter turnout since 2000, but give different numbers. According to Hurriyet, 86.28% participated in the election, according to TRT Haber – 88.84%. The names of the opposition are larger numbers – 93.6%.
At the same time, the headquarters of Kilicdaroglu is sure that the media will distort the data. Erdogan’s own opponents have also accused him of fraud.
Veiled bribery?
In particular, Kilicdaroglu previously asserted that he had evidence of Russian attempts to interfere in the country’s elections. And this morning, he said that Erdogan’s party is delaying the full results of the vote by filing appeals, while the authorities publish the results in a way that artificially inflates the current president’s rating.
Kilicdaroglu also said in his morning speech that “Erdogan is destroying the will of Turkey” by opposing the counting of more than a thousand urns.
“You can’t stop what happens with appeals. We will never let this become reality,” he said.
Remember that the world was shocked by what Erdogan did yesterday. Right at the polling station before his vote, he took money out of his pocket and started distributing it to the children. Everyone can receive a 200 Turkish liras banknote from Erdogan. This amount is approximately 380 hryvnia. According to Turkish law, this is not considered bribery, as children cannot vote for candidates in elections.
However, five days before the election, against the backdrop of the election campaign in Turkey, Erdogan announced a 45% increase in the salaries of public sector workers. Later, his administration explained that such a decision was also legal, as Erdogan implemented an increase in the salaries of civil servants, of which there are about 700,000 in Turkey, as part of the signed agreement on collective labor contracts. of the state for 2023.
Putin’s main ally
The choice of Turkey’s next president is one of the country’s most important political decisions, which reverberates far beyond the borders of the state itself. A victory for Erdogan, one of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s most important allies, is likely to please the Kremlin but anger President Joe Biden’s administration, as well as many leaders in Europe and the Middle East who have had a rocky relationship with Erdogan.
epaimages.com/ Erdogan casts his vote at a polling station in Istanbul
Turkey’s leader turned the country into a global player in 20 years, modernizing it with mega-projects like new bridges and airports, and building a serious military industry. But his unstable economic policy of low interest rates, which caused a spiraling crisis in the cost of living and inflation, left him the victim of voter anger.
Also, his government’s slow response to the devastating earthquake in southeastern Turkey, which killed around 50,000 people last year, has further angered Turks.
Promises of Opposition
Kilicdaroglu has promised to revive democracy after years of “state repression”, return to orthodox economic policies, and expand the powers of institutions that lost autonomy under Erdogan.
epaimages.com/ Turkish presidential candidate Kilicdaroglu
Regarding international politics, the oppositionist wants to restore the weak relations with the West, as well as maintain Turkey’s role between Ukraine and Russia. In particular, he wants to continue the trilateral dialogue on the “grain agreement”.
At the same time, Kilicdaroglu promised more “transparent” relations with Putin. But the presidential candidate will not join Western sanctions against the Kremlin, putting his country’s interests first. However, according to his advisor, Kilicdaroglu’s team “will remind Russia that Turkey is a NATO member.”
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Source: korrespondent
I am David Wyatt, a professional writer and journalist for Buna Times. I specialize in the world section of news coverage, where I bring to light stories and issues that affect us globally. As a graduate of Journalism, I have always had the passion to spread knowledge through writing.