ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — Voters in Turkey went to the polls again Sunday to decide whether the nation’s longtime leader extends his increasingly authoritarian rule into a third decade or is ousted by a challenger who has pledged to restore a more democratic sANKARA, Turkey (AP) — Voters in Turkey went to the polls again Sunday to decide whether the nation’s longtime leader extends his increasingly authoritarian rule into a third decade or is unseated
Following a narrow loss in the first round on May 14, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who has led Turkey for 20 years, is expected to win a new five-year term in the second round runoff.
The polarising populist won with a four-point margin against Kemal Kilicdaroglu, the center-left opposition leader of Turkey and the nominee of a six-party coalition. Despite crushing inflation and the aftereffects of a devastation earthquake three months earlier, Erdogan performed well.
The two contenders presented radically divergent perspectives on both the nation’s recent history and future.
The 74-year-old Kilcdaroglu (pronounced KEH-lich-DAHR-OH-loo) told reporters after casting his ballot: “This election took place under very difficult circumstances, there was all sorts of slander and defamation.” “However, I have faith in the populace’s common sense. People will be able to freely walk the streets and criticise leaders when democracy and freedom arrive.
Erdogan remarked that this is the first presidential runoff election in Turkey’s history while speaking to media after casting his ballot at a school in Istanbul. He also hailed the first round’s strong voter turnout and predicted that Sunday’s turnout will be just as high. Kilicdaroglu and he both cast votes at the same moment while the action was being shown on local television.
He prayed to God, saying, “I pray that it (the election) will be good for our country and nation.”
Voting is open to more than 64 million voters. Election day voting began at 8 a.m.
Exit polls are not available in Turkey, although early results are anticipated to be released within a few hours of the polls closing at 5 p.m.
The ultimate choice could have effects that go far beyond Ankara. Turkey is an important member of NATO and is located at the intersection of Europe and Asia.
His administration rejected Sweden’s request to join NATO and bought Russian missile defence systems, which caused the United States to kick Turkey out of a programme to develop fighter jets under its leadership. However, Turkey under Erdogan also assisted in negotiating an important agreement that permitted grain imports from Ukraine and prevented a worldwide food catastrophe.
Voters’ dedication to elections in a nation where freedom of speech and assembly have been curtailed is seen in the 87% turnout that was recorded in the election on May 14 and the significant participation that is anticipated again Sunday.
Erdogan’s unorthodox economic strategies are allegedly to responsible for the spiralling inflation that has caused a cost-of-living catastrophe. Many also criticised his administration for its tardiness in responding to the earthquake in Turkey that claimed more than 50,000 lives.
Mustafa Yesil, 60, a retired man who lives in Diyarbakir, a province with a large Kurdish population and one of the 11 areas affected by the earthquake on February 6, said he voted for “change.”
“I’m not at all pleased with the direction our nation is going. I don’t see positive things for the future, to be frank, if this present government continues,” he remarked. “I see a bad outcome; this administration needs to change.”
Erdogan supporter Mehmet Yurttas disagreed.
The 57-year-old business owner stated, “I feel that our motherland is at the height, in a really excellent shape. “The trajectory of our nation is very positive and will remain positive.”
Erdogan continues to enjoy the support of conservative people who support him because of his efforts to increase Islam’s visibility in Turkey, a nation established on secular values, and to increase Turkey’s influence in international affairs.
Erdogan, 69, may stay onto power till 2028 if he wins. Turkey’s longest-serving president is Erdogan. After three terms as prime minister, he now has a strong presidency that is mainly his own invention. He is the leader of the conservative and religious Justice and Development Party, or AKP, and is an ardent Muslim.
During the first part of Erdogan’s presidency, the nation underwent changes that enabled accession negotiations with the EU and saw economic development that helped many people escape poverty. But following a botched coup attempt that Turkey claims was masterminded by American-based Islamic cleric Fethullah Gulen, he attempted to restrict freedoms and the media and consolidate greater power in his own hands. The clergyman disputes being involved.
Erdogan’s 2017 referendum to abolish Turkey’s parliamentary system of government, which he barely won, turned the president from a primarily ceremonial position to a strong one. In 2014, he became the first president to be elected in this manner. In 2018, he won the election that brought about the executive presidency.
The election on May 14 was the first time Erdogan did not come out on top.
Since 2010, Kilicdaroglu, an amiable former civil servant, has served as the leader of the Republican People’s Party, or CHP, a party that supports secularism. During his campaign, he made pledges to strengthen relations with the West, revive the economy, and stop Erdogan’s democratic backsliding.
In a last-ditch attempt to win over nationalist supporters in the runoff, Kilicdaroglu pledged to deport migrants and rejected holding peace talks with Kurdish terrorists.
The third-place finisher, nationalist lawmaker Sinan Ogan, who won 5.2% of the vote and dropped out of the contest, gave Erdogan his support earlier in the week. A vehemently anti-immigrant party, which had backed Ogan’s candidature, said it would now endorse Kilicdaroglu.
Kilicdaroglu’s defeat would be the latest in a string of election defeats for Erdogan, increasing pressure on him to resign as party leader.
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 won’t be held again.
In the earthquake-affected region, where 10 out of 11 provinces were won by Erdogan’s party, which has always backed the president, the party also prevailed. In eight of those provinces, Erdogan won the presidential election.
Additionally, this Sunday is the anniversary of the beginning of the massive anti-government demonstrations that erupted over the proposed removal of trees from Istanbul’s Gezi Park and turned into one of the most significant threats to Erdogan’s administration.
Eight individuals were found guilty for allegedly participating in the demonstrations, and Erdogan’s reaction foreshadowed an assault on free speech and civil society.
After the election on May 14, foreign observers said Erdogan had a “unjustified advantage” and cited the prosecution of the spread of false information and internet censorship as proof. They also claimed that the high participation demonstrated the tenacity of Turkish democracy.
Kilicdaroglu, who had the support of the nation’s pro-Kurdish party, was presented by Erdogan and pro-government media as conspiring with “terrorists” and promoting what they called “deviant” LGBTQ rights.
At recent campaign rallies, Erdogan regularly claimed that Kilicdaroglu “receives his orders from Qandil,” a reference to the Iraqi highlands where the leadership of the banned Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, is located.
“God and the people give us our orders,” he said.
As the nation celebrated the 100th anniversary of being a republic after the fall of the Ottoman Empire, the election was taking place. ociety.
Following a narrow loss in the first round on May 14, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who has led Turkey for 20 years, is expected to win a new five-year term in the second round runoff.
The polarising populist won with a four-point margin against Kemal Kilicdaroglu, the center-left opposition leader of Turkey and the nominee of a six-party coalition. Despite crushing inflation and the aftereffects of a devastation earthquake three months earlier, Erdogan performed well.
The two contenders presented radically divergent perspectives on both the nation’s recent history and future.
The 74-year-old Kilcdaroglu (pronounced KEH-lich-DAHR-OH-loo) told reporters after casting his ballot: “This election took place under very difficult circumstances, there was all sorts of slander and defamation.” “However, I have faith in the populace’s common sense. People will be able to freely walk the streets and criticise leaders when democracy and freedom arrive.
Erdogan remarked that this is the first presidential runoff election in Turkey’s history while speaking to media after casting his ballot at a school in Istanbul. He also hailed the first round’s strong voter turnout and predicted that Sunday’s turnout will be just as high. Kilicdaroglu and he both cast votes at the same moment while the action was being shown on local television.
He prayed to God, saying, “I pray that it (the election) will be good for our country and nation.”
Voting is open to more than 64 million voters. Election day voting began at 8 a.m.
Exit polls are not available in Turkey, although early results are anticipated to be released within a few hours of the polls closing at 5 p.m.
The ultimate choice could have effects that go far beyond Ankara. Turkey is an important member of NATO and is located at the intersection of Europe and Asia.
His administration rejected Sweden’s request to join NATO and bought Russian missile defence systems, which caused the United States to kick Turkey out of a programme to develop fighter jets under its leadership. However, Turkey under Erdogan also assisted in negotiating an important agreement that permitted grain imports from Ukraine and prevented a worldwide food catastrophe.
Voters’ dedication to elections in a nation where freedom of speech and assembly have been curtailed is seen in the 87% turnout that was recorded in the election on May 14 and the significant participation that is anticipated again Sunday.
Erdogan’s unorthodox economic strategies are allegedly to responsible for the spiralling inflation that has caused a cost-of-living catastrophe. Many also criticised his administration for its tardiness in responding to the earthquake in Turkey that claimed more than 50,000 lives.
Mustafa Yesil, 60, a retired man who lives in Diyarbakir, a province with a large Kurdish population and one of the 11 areas affected by the earthquake on February 6, said he voted for “change.”
“I’m not at all pleased with the direction our nation is going. I don’t see positive things for the future, to be frank, if this present government continues,” he remarked. “I see a bad outcome; this administration needs to change.”
Erdogan supporter Mehmet Yurttas disagreed.
The 57-year-old business owner stated, “I feel that our motherland is at the height, in a really excellent shape. “The trajectory of our nation is very positive and will remain positive.”
Erdogan continues to enjoy the support of conservative people who support him because of his efforts to increase Islam’s visibility in Turkey, a nation established on secular values, and to increase Turkey’s influence in international affairs.
Erdogan, 69, may stay onto power till 2028 if he wins. Turkey’s longest-serving president is Erdogan. After three terms as prime minister, he now has a strong presidency that is mainly his own invention. He is the leader of the conservative and religious Justice and Development Party, or AKP, and is an ardent Muslim.
During the first part of Erdogan’s presidency, the nation underwent changes that enabled accession negotiations with the EU and saw economic development that helped many people escape poverty. But following a botched coup attempt that Turkey claims was masterminded by American-based Islamic cleric Fethullah Gulen, he attempted to restrict freedoms and the media and consolidate greater power in his own hands. The clergyman disputes being involved.
Erdogan’s 2017 referendum to abolish Turkey’s parliamentary system of government, which he barely won, turned the president from a primarily ceremonial position to a strong one. In 2014, he became the first president to be elected in this manner. In 2018, he won the election that brought about the executive presidency.
The election on May 14 was the first time Erdogan did not come out on top.
Since 2010, Kilicdaroglu, an amiable former civil servant, has served as the leader of the Republican People’s Party, or CHP, a party that supports secularism. During his campaign, he made pledges to strengthen relations with the West, revive the economy, and stop Erdogan’s democratic backsliding.
In a last-ditch attempt to win over nationalist supporters in the runoff, Kilicdaroglu pledged to deport migrants and rejected holding peace talks with Kurdish terrorists.
The third-place finisher, nationalist lawmaker Sinan Ogan, who won 5.2% of the vote and dropped out of the contest, gave Erdogan his support earlier in the week. A vehemently anti-immigrant party, which had backed Ogan’s candidature, said it would now endorse Kilicdaroglu.
Kilicdaroglu’s defeat would be the latest in a string of election defeats for Erdogan, increasing pressure on him to resign as party leader.
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 won’t be held again.
In the earthquake-affected region, where 10 out of 11 provinces were won by Erdogan’s party, which has always backed the president, the party also prevailed. In eight of those provinces, Erdogan won the presidential election.
Additionally, this Sunday is the anniversary of the beginning of the massive anti-government demonstrations that erupted over the proposed removal of trees from Istanbul’s Gezi Park and turned into one of the most significant threats to Erdogan’s administration.
Eight individuals were found guilty for allegedly participating in the demonstrations, and Erdogan’s reaction foreshadowed an assault on free speech and civil society.
After the election on May 14, foreign observers said Erdogan had a “unjustified advantage” and cited the prosecution of the spread of false information and internet censorship as proof. They also claimed that the high participation demonstrated the tenacity of Turkish democracy.
Kilicdaroglu, who had the support of the nation’s pro-Kurdish party, was presented by Erdogan and pro-government media as conspiring with “terrorists” and promoting what they called “deviant” LGBTQ rights.
At recent campaign rallies, Erdogan regularly claimed that Kilicdaroglu “receives his orders from Qandil,” a reference to the Iraqi highlands where the leadership of the banned Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, is located.
“God and the people give us our orders,” he said.
As the nation celebrated the 100th anniversary of being a republic after the fall of the Ottoman Empire, the election was taking place.