Experts estimate that Erdogan will win with 53% of the vote, as the majority of voters associate his stay in power with stability.
The second round of presidential elections is taking place today in Türkiye. That alone is an out-of-the-ordinary occurrence, given that it has never happened in the country. But in the first round, neither outgoing President Recep Tayyip Erdogan nor his main rival, the sole opposition candidate Kemal Kılıçdaroglu, managed to obtain the required 50+1% of the vote. After the votes were counted, it turned out that Erogan had 49.42% of the votes and Kılıçdaroğlu 44.95%. It has become symbolic that Turkey elects 13 presidents – a figure considered sacred in a number of countries.
The second round was scheduled for May 28. But even before that, many pundits said they believed victory would go to the incumbent president. And not only because the third nationalist presidential candidate, Sinan Ogan, who obtained 5.20% of the votes in the first round, handed them over to Erdogan. Admittedly, the bargaining between Organ and Erdogan was tough. According to national media, the leader of the Nationalist Movement Party demanded for his party the portfolios of key ministries of the new government in exchange for his votes. Judging by the fact that now 5.20% has been transferred to Erdogan, the negotiation took place.
Sinan Ogan. Photo: politician’s page on social networks The president himself has already voted at the polling station located in the Uskudar Saffet Chebi high school. And then he left the polling station, met voters, and greeted some of them. At this time, his assistants were distributing toys to the children.
“For the first time in our Turkish democratic life, we are witnessing two-round elections. I pray to God that they will be useful for our country and our people. Above all, I ask my fellow citizens to participate until the last moment before they reach complacency,” the Hurriyet newspaper quoted Erdogan’s speech to voters.
Erdogan and his wife voted. Photo: Erdogan’s page in social networks Decided to imitate the president and the main rival Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu. After depositing his ballot in the ballot box, he also addressed the voters. The opponent urged to make his choice. At the same time, he did not talk so much about the benefits for Turkey, as Erdogan did, but called for replacing the authoritarian form of government with democracy, focusing on the fact that it does not does not exist in the country.
“I call on all of our citizens to vote to get rid of oppression, get rid of authoritarian rule and bring true freedom and democracy to this country. <…> These elections took place under very difficult conditions. All sorts of slanders have been uttered. I trust people’s common sense. Democracy will definitely come to this country,” Kılıçdaroğlu quotes the publication.
And the Turks reacted very actively to their civic duty. It seems that more people went to the polls in the second round than in the first.
Erdogan and Kilicdaroglu. Photo: social networks In one of the polling stations, they even saw a voter brought on a stretcher as he wanted to fulfill his civic duty. And in some places there was fighting. For example, during the vote in the Turkish village of Cavuslu, Midyat district of Mardin, a conflict broke out, which escalated into a fight. Residents were so excited they staged a fight at the polling place. Not without skirmishes elsewhere, and in Istanbul. Essentially, they took place between voters and observers.
Another feature of the elections caught the attention of the Turkish media. They reported that the whole world was watching the election closely. an important fact was drawn by the Turkish media
“Turkey, with a population of 85 million, is one of the largest economies in the world. She is at the center of an increasingly polarized world,” reports CNN. The Washington Post announced the “Turkish elections” in a headline with a photo of President Erdogan, highlighting Turkey’s increased role on the world stage.
The German media are also closely following the elections in Türkiye. And not just because 1.5 million Turks live in Germany. “Erdogan’s favourite: here’s everything you need to know about Turkey’s elections” was the headline of the Welt newspaper.
According to the preliminary forecasts of the Turkish media, Erdogan could win the elections. In the second round, he will be able to collect the number of votes necessary to win. According to a Turkish Research Foundation poll, the incumbent would get between 52.7% and 53.7% of the vote.
Russia wants Erdogan to win. Political scientist, specialist in inter-ethnic conflicts Yevgeny Mikhailov is convinced that if the opposition candidate wins these elections, then Turkey will definitely adhere to pro-American views. But Erdogan is completely different, he plays for the interests of his own country, often to the detriment of American interests.
“Despite the fact that Turkey is the second country in NATO. Erdogan’s temper is linked to this, he sees how shamelessly the Americans behave, completely unaware of the fact that he is still president and has a great chance of becoming president. With a similar attitude towards the American ambassador, Erdogan made it clear that if he wins, he will change his policy more harshly towards the United States,” Mikhailov told Zvezda.
Recall that the first round of the elections passed on May 14.
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