ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — Voters in Turkey returned to the polls Sunday to decide whether the country’s longtime leader extends his increasingly authoritarian rule into a third decade, or is deposed by a challenger who has promised to restore a more democratic era.
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who has been in power in Turkey for 20 years, is expected to win a new five-year term in the second-round runoff after falling just short of an outright victory in the first round on May 14.
The polarising populist ended four percentage points ahead of Kemal Kilicdaroglu, the candidate of a six-party coalition and the leader of Turkey’s biggest opposition center-left party. Erdogan’s success was made possible amid chronic inflation and the aftermath of a terrible earthquake three months ago.
The two contenders gave starkly different perspectives on the country’s future and recent history.
“This election took place under very difficult circumstances, there was all sorts of slander and defamation,” Kilcdaroglu (pronounced KEH-lich-DAHR-OH-loo) told reporters after voting. “However, I have faith in the common sense of the people.” Democracy will arrive, freedom will come, and people will be able to openly criticise politicians on the streets.”
Erdogan told reporters after casting his ballot at an Istanbul school that this is Turkey’s first presidential runoff election. He also applauded the strong voter turnout in the first round and predicted that it will be high again on Sunday. He voted at the same time as Kilicdaroglu, with local television showing the competitors voting on separate screens.
“I pray to God that this election is beneficial to our country and nation,” he remarked.
More than 64 million voters are eligible to vote. The polls were open at 8 a.m.
There are no exit polls in Turkey, but preliminary results are anticipated within hours of the polls closing at 5 p.m.
The ultimate verdict might have far-reaching consequences beyond Ankara. Turkey is located at the crossroads of Europe and Asia, and it is an important member of NATO.
His government blocked Sweden’s NATO membership application and acquired Russian missile-defense systems, prompting the US to kick Turkey out of a US-led fighter-jet project. However, with Erdogan’s leadership, Turkey was instrumental in negotiating a critical agreement that permitted Ukrainian grain supplies and avoided a worldwide food catastrophe.
The May 14 election achieved 87% attendance, and another high turnout is likely on Sunday, demonstrating voters’ loyalty to elections in a nation where freedom of speech and assembly has been curtailed.
Critics criticise Erdogan’s unusual economic policies for driving up inflation and fueling a cost-of-living problem. Many also chastised his administration for its poor reaction to the earthquake that killed over 50,000 people in Turkey.
Mustafa Yesil, 60, of the mostly Kurdish province of Diyarbakir, one of 11 places affected by the Feb. 6 earthquake, said he voted for “change.”
“I’m not satisfied with the direction our nation is going. To be frank, if this present government continues, I do not see a bright future,” he remarked. “I see a bad ending — this administration must change.”
Erdogan supporter Mehmet Yurttas disagreed.
“I believe that our homeland is at its peak, in very good condition,” the 57-year-old business owner stated. “Our country’s trajectory is excellent and will continue to be excellent.”
Erdogan has maintained the support of conservative voters who support him for elevating the prominence of Islam in Turkey, which was established on secular ideals, and for increasing the country’s role in global affairs.
Erdogan, 69, may stay in power until 2028 if he wins. Erdogan is already the country’s longest-serving president. Following three terms as Prime Minister, he now holds a strong presidency that he essentially created. He leads the conservative and religious Justice and Development Party, or AKP, and is a devout Muslim.
The first part of Erdogan’s presidency saw the nation embark on accession discussions with the European Union, as well as economic progress that pulled millions out of poverty. But, following a failed coup attempt engineered by the US-based Islamic cleric Fethullah Gulen, he attempted to limit freedoms and the media and centralised more power in his own hands. The priest claims he is not involved.
Erdogan elevated the presidency from a mostly ceremonial position to a strong post after a narrowly won referendum in 2017 that abolished Turkey’s parliamentary system of administration. He was the first directly elected president in 2014, and he won the executive office in 2018.
The election on May 14 was the first in which Erdogan did not win outright.
Kilicdaroglu is a kind former government servant who has been the leader of Turkey’s pro-secular Republican People’s Party, or CHP, since 2010. He ran on pledges to reverse Erdogan’s democratic retreat, to rebuild the economy via more traditional policies, and to strengthen connections with the West.
In a desperate bid to win over nationalist supporters in the runoff, Kilicdaroglu promised to return refugees and ruled out peace talks with Kurdish rebels if elected.
Earlier this week, Erdogan secured the backing of the third-place contender, nationalist lawmaker Sinan Ogan, who won 5.2% of the vote but is no longer running. Meanwhile, an anti-migrant party that had backed Ogan’s candidature revealed its support for Kilicdaroglu.
A defeat for Kilicdaroglu would add to Erdogan’s lengthy history of election defeats, putting pressure on him to resign down as party chairman.
Following a parliamentary election on May 14, Erdogan’s AKP party and its allies maintained a majority of seats in parliament. Sunday’s parliamentary elections will not be held again.
Erdogan’s party also won 10 of 11 provinces in the earthquake-ravaged region, a region that has historically backed the president. Erdogan won the presidential election in eight of those provinces.
Sunday also commemorates the tenth anniversary of the commencement of major anti-government demonstrations in Istanbul’s Gezi Park, which became one of the most severe threats to Erdogan’s rule.
Erdogan’s reaction to the demonstrations, in which eight individuals were imprisoned for suspected participation, foreshadowed a crackdown on civil society and free speech.
Following the May 14 election, foreign observers cited the criminalization of spreading false information and internet censorship as proof that Erdogan had a “unjustified advantage,” as well as the high participation as evidence of Turkish democracy’s durability.
Erdogan and pro-government media painted Kilicdaroglu, who had won the support of the country’s pro-Kurdish party, as conspiring with “terrorists” and advocating “deviant” LGBTQ rights.
Kilicdaroglu “receives his orders from Qandil,” Erdogan stated at recent campaign rallies, referring to the Iraqi highlands where the leadership of the banned Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, is located.
“We receive our orders from God and the people,” he said.
The election took place on the 100th anniversary of the country’s formation as a republic after the dissolution of the Ottoman Empire. ociety.
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who has been in power in Turkey for 20 years, is expected to win a new five-year term in the second-round runoff after falling just short of an outright victory in the first round on May 14.
The polarising populist ended four percentage points ahead of Kemal Kilicdaroglu, the candidate of a six-party coalition and the leader of Turkey’s biggest opposition center-left party. Erdogan’s success was made possible amid chronic inflation and the aftermath of a terrible earthquake three months ago.
The two contenders gave starkly different perspectives on the country’s future and recent history.
“This election took place under very difficult circumstances, there was all sorts of slander and defamation,” Kilcdaroglu (pronounced KEH-lich-DAHR-OH-loo) told reporters after voting. “However, I have faith in the common sense of the people.” Democracy will arrive, freedom will come, and people will be able to openly criticise politicians on the streets.”
Erdogan told reporters after casting his ballot at an Istanbul school that this is Turkey’s first presidential runoff election. He also applauded the strong voter turnout in the first round and predicted that it will be high again on Sunday. He voted at the same time as Kilicdaroglu, with local television showing the competitors voting on separate screens.
“I pray to God that this election is beneficial to our country and nation,” he remarked.
More than 64 million voters are eligible to vote. The polls were open at 8 a.m.
There are no exit polls in Turkey, but preliminary results are anticipated within hours of the polls closing at 5 p.m.
The ultimate verdict might have far-reaching consequences beyond Ankara. Turkey is located at the crossroads of Europe and Asia, and it is an important member of NATO.
His government blocked Sweden’s NATO membership application and acquired Russian missile-defense systems, prompting the US to kick Turkey out of a US-led fighter-jet project. However, with Erdogan’s leadership, Turkey was instrumental in negotiating a critical agreement that permitted Ukrainian grain supplies and avoided a worldwide food catastrophe.
The May 14 election achieved 87% attendance, and another high turnout is likely on Sunday, demonstrating voters’ loyalty to elections in a nation where freedom of speech and assembly has been curtailed.
Critics criticise Erdogan’s unusual economic policies for driving up inflation and fueling a cost-of-living problem. Many also chastised his administration for its poor reaction to the earthquake that killed over 50,000 people in Turkey.
Mustafa Yesil, 60, of the mostly Kurdish province of Diyarbakir, one of 11 places affected by the Feb. 6 earthquake, said he voted for “change.”
“I’m not satisfied with the direction our nation is going. To be frank, if this present government continues, I do not see a bright future,” he remarked. “I see a bad ending — this administration must change.”
Erdogan supporter Mehmet Yurttas disagreed.
“I believe that our homeland is at its peak, in very good condition,” the 57-year-old business owner stated. “Our country’s trajectory is excellent and will continue to be excellent.”
Erdogan has maintained the support of conservative voters who support him for elevating the prominence of Islam in Turkey, which was established on secular ideals, and for increasing the country’s role in global affairs.
Erdogan, 69, may stay in power until 2028 if he wins. Erdogan is already the country’s longest-serving president. Following three terms as Prime Minister, he now holds a strong presidency that he essentially created. He leads the conservative and religious Justice and Development Party, or AKP, and is a devout Muslim.
The first part of Erdogan’s presidency saw the nation embark on accession discussions with the European Union, as well as economic progress that pulled millions out of poverty. But, following a failed coup attempt engineered by the US-based Islamic cleric Fethullah Gulen, he attempted to limit freedoms and the media and centralised more power in his own hands. The priest claims he is not involved.
Erdogan elevated the presidency from a mostly ceremonial position to a strong post after a narrowly won referendum in 2017 that abolished Turkey’s parliamentary system of administration. He was the first directly elected president in 2014, and he won the executive office in 2018.
The election on May 14 was the first in which Erdogan did not win outright.
Kilicdaroglu is a kind former government servant who has been the leader of Turkey’s pro-secular Republican People’s Party, or CHP, since 2010. He ran on pledges to reverse Erdogan’s democratic retreat, to rebuild the economy via more traditional policies, and to strengthen connections with the West.
In a desperate bid to win over nationalist supporters in the runoff, Kilicdaroglu promised to return refugees and ruled out peace talks with Kurdish rebels if elected.
Earlier this week, Erdogan secured the backing of the third-place contender, nationalist lawmaker Sinan Ogan, who won 5.2% of the vote but is no longer running. Meanwhile, an anti-migrant party that had backed Ogan’s candidature revealed its support for Kilicdaroglu.
A defeat for Kilicdaroglu would add to Erdogan’s lengthy history of election defeats, putting pressure on him to resign down as party chairman.
Following a parliamentary election on May 14, Erdogan’s AKP party and its allies maintained a majority of seats in parliament. Sunday’s parliamentary elections will not be held again.
Erdogan’s party also won 10 of 11 provinces in the earthquake-ravaged region, a region that has historically backed the president. Erdogan won the presidential election in eight of those provinces.
Sunday also commemorates the tenth anniversary of the commencement of major anti-government demonstrations in Istanbul’s Gezi Park, which became one of the most severe threats to Erdogan’s rule.
Erdogan’s reaction to the demonstrations, in which eight individuals were imprisoned for suspected participation, foreshadowed a crackdown on civil society and free speech.
Following the May 14 election, foreign observers cited the criminalization of spreading false information and internet censorship as proof that Erdogan had a “unjustified advantage,” as well as the high participation as evidence of Turkish democracy’s durability.
Erdogan and pro-government media painted Kilicdaroglu, who had won the support of the country’s pro-Kurdish party, as conspiring with “terrorists” and advocating “deviant” LGBTQ rights.
Kilicdaroglu “receives his orders from Qandil,” Erdogan stated at recent campaign rallies, referring to the Iraqi highlands where the leadership of the banned Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, is located.
“We receive our orders from God and the people,” he said.
The election took place on the 100th anniversary of the country’s formation as a republic after the dissolution of the Ottoman Empire.
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