Istanbul, Türkiye – Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has won re-election in a tight runoff after falling short of what he needs for a direct re-election, according to unofficial data from the country’s Supreme Election Commission and the state-run Anadolu Agency. More than 50% of the vote won the first round on May 14.
With nearly all votes counted, Erdogan won 52.14% of the vote in Sunday’s runoff, beating his challenger Kemal Akshak, according to the Supreme Election Commission. Kilicida Roglu, who received 47.86 percent of the vote.
Results are expected to be confirmed in the coming days.
The vote cemented Erdogan’s place in history as he extended his 20-year rule for another five years.
He has outlasted the 15-year presidency of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, the founder of the Turkish Republic.
Erdogan appeared outside his residence in Uskudar, Istanbul, where he sang and then thanked a crowd of adoring crowd.
“We have completed the second round of the presidential election with the support of the people,” Erdogan said. “God willing, we will be as worthy of your trust as we have been for the past 21 years.”
All 85 million citizens of the country were the “winners” of the two rounds of voting on May 14 and May 28, he added.
The president also said the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) would go after candidate Kilicdaroglu’s poor performance, adding that the CHP’s number of seats in parliament had shrunk compared to 2017 polls.
He then traveled to Ankara to address supporters at the presidential palace. Erdogan congratulated the crowd and told them that the most pressing problem facing the country was inflation, before adding that it was not a difficult problem to solve.
Turkey’s inflation rate was 50.5% in March, down from a high of 85.6% in October, official data showed.
“The most pressing issue … is to eliminate the problems posed by inflation-induced price increases and to compensate for the loss of welfare,” the president said.
Erdogan added that healing the wounds of the February earthquake and rebuilding towns devastated by natural disasters would continue to be his priorities.
“Our hearts and hands will continue to be in the earthquake zone,” Erdogan said.
In his first comments after confirming that Erdogan would stay on as president, Kilidaroglu said he would continue what he called “the struggle for democracy”.
“All the means of the state are mobilized for one party and put under one man’s feet,” the CHP leader said. “I want to thank the leaders of the National Coalition, their organizations, our constituents, and the citizens who are protecting the ballot box and fighting these unethical and illegal pressures.”
Despite the loss, Kilicdaroglu has not resigned, although calls for him to do so may now grow.
close event
The two-month election period has seen one of the most intense campaigning in recent memory.
Erdogan repeatedly said his opponent was backed by “terrorists” because of the support offered by the main pro-Kurdish party, while Kilidaroglu called Erdogan a “coward” at the end of the campaign.
The movement has taken on an increasingly nationalist tone, particularly with opposition pledges to force the departure of Syrians and other refugee populations.
Sunday’s run-off vote was the first to enter the second phase since direct presidential elections were introduced in 2014.
Despite renewed calls for referendums two weeks after the initial election on May 14, turnout remained at around 85%.
For Turks after opening their ballot boxes on television, the outcome depends on which platform they follow — the state-run Anadolu Agency or the opposition-linked Anka news agency.
Two hours after polls closed — election authorities said a quarter of the ballots had been counted — Anadolu showed Erdogan leading with 53.7 percent, while Anka showed Kilicdaroglu leading with 50.1 percent.
However, as night fell, the gap narrowed between the two accounts, with Erdogan leading on both accounts.
The election – a parliamentary vote to coincide with a May 14 leadership contest – was widely billed as the most important in Turkey’s recent history and was held on the centenary of the republic.
The choice between candidates has been described in equally compelling terms – either an extension of Erdogan’s two-decade rule or a leader’s pledge to return to the parliamentary system.
The poll of more than 64 million Turks at home and abroad entitled to vote comes against the backdrop of a cost-of-living crisis that saw inflation peak at 85 percent in October and an earthquake in February that killed more than 50,000 people in the country’s southeast. Ministry of people.
Erdogan came to power in 2003, initially as prime minister, with a vision for further development, promising to expand improvements made by his Justice and Development Party (AK Party) government.
After a successful parliamentary election — the AK Party and its allies won 323 of the 600 seats — Erdogan was also able to promise to provide stability by controlling the legislature and government.
Meanwhile, Kilicdaroglu has pledged to democratize and overthrow Erdogan’s “one-man rule” while tackling what he calls economic mismanagement.
The nationalist tone ahead of the presidential runoff was partly aimed at gaining support from voters backing Sinan Ogun, a candidate who won more than 5 percent of the vote on May 14.
Ogun ended up backing Erdogan, but other nationalists backed Kilidaroglu.
Erdogan shot 49.5 percent in the first round, while Kilidaroglu hit 44.9 percent.
After the final two months of campaigning, voters now have 10 months to prepare for local elections in March, when Erdogan will push to recapture cities such as Istanbul and Ankara, which were defeated in 2019. Occupied by the opposition.
